Prior to four months ago, most people had little knowledge about supply chains. Today, we hear these words on a daily basis. For most, the supply chain is getting something from the grocery store to their home, but it is far more complex than that.  In the past, we have seen multiple examples of struggling supply chains, mostly during local natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornados.  However, COVID-19 has exposed a far more complex supply chain and has created questions going forward on the future of its execution.

The best example of what most would say was a failure in the beginning of the pandemic was the availability of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).  PPE consists mostly of masks, gowns and gloves for front line health care providers and first responders.   As the pandemic spread, the need for PPE increased creating shortages.  A key problem during this time period is that most of the PPE was coming from one country, China. This created a challenge for distributors trying to get PPE from China to the United States.  In a normal situation, having products manufactured in a different country is not an issue, as product can easily be moved by major cargo providers. As we learned though the typical process changed quickly, when demand for PPE spiked.

Distributors in the United States, even here in Michigan, were scrambling to get product as quickly as possible.  The unfortunate part to this is that everyone, federal, state and local governments, were all looking for the same product, and in some cases from the same vendors.  Fortunately, the vendor community stepped up and looked for multiple ways to acquire PPE.  Some vendors chartered their own planes, some formed buying groups to help each other so if one vendor did not have a product, they would work with other vendors in the buying group to get it.  Some vendors cut prices to buyers and some paid above market to make sure that PPE was delivered.  Of course, there were bumps along the road, especially when citizens were in need of masks adding more demand on the system.  As we have seen, because of their ingenuity we have PPE. However, questions remain, like will it be enough going forward and do we want to repeat this type of chaos?

What have we learned from the COVID-19 supply chain experience?  Many companies are looking at moving more of their manufacturing operations to the United States.  Some companies are building stronger relationships and agreements with manufacturers overseas, as well as with the major logistics companies.   We have also learned that at every level of government we need to have a plan in place to ensure availability of critical supplies in a time of need.  This will require governments to work with the private sector to build a stockpile of supplies, and a stronger supply chain, so that we don’t again experience the gaps that developed during the early months of COVID-19.  In the end we did witness innovation from the private sector and a willingness of governments to reach out for help to meet the need.  Stay safe and well.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.