SUPPLY CHAIN
placing the greatest strain on automotive and consumer electronics sectors , with ripple effects reverberating throughout their supply chains .
While shifts in demand caused by the pandemic is cited as the main catalyst of chip shortages , Sundar Kamak , Head of Manufacturing Solutions at Ivalua , says manufacturers were already heading towards a potential crisis before the outbreak .
“ The demand and supply is simply directly proportional to consumer expectations ,” he says . “ If you look at the automotive industry , consumers don ’ t want a key , they want a button . So now every organisation is changing in line with that expectation . But what you soon realise is that you cannot introduce digital in some areas of the vehicle , and not in others .
“ If you look at the screen in a new Tesla , for example , it is much higher quality
“Global trade management introduces the complexities of multiple languages , time zones , currencies , and modes of transport ”
CLINT REISER DIRECTOR , SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH , ARC ADVISORY GROUP
64 August 2021