LOGISTICS
The pandemic , the Suez blockage … how can businesses best protect themselves against such catastrophic ‘ unknown ’ risks ?
WRITTEN BY : SEAN ASHCROFT
On February 26 , 2010 , an Icelandic volcano erupted for the first time in 190 years , sending up a column of ash that choked the world and led to over 100,000 flight cancellations , at an estimated cost of £ 3 billion .
At the tail end of 2019 , somewhere in a bustling wet-food market in Wuhan , China , a zoonotic virus made its way from bat to human . The result was a global pandemic that to date has cost the world economy $ 10 trillion , and claimed more than five million lives .
As if that wasn ’ t enough , on the morning of March 23 , 2021 , a gust of wind forced the giant container ship , Ever Given , aground in the Suez Canal , blocking the world ’ s busiest trade corridor for six days , and disrupting $ 40 billion of trade .
In the past few years in particular , businesses have been rocked by unforeseen supply chain disruptions , across industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and consumer goods to electronics and automotive .
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