Exclusive: Latest survey shows industry confident in face of Covid-19


The latest survey by Ti Insight, the global research and analysis organization, has revealed that despite the looming threat of Coronavirus, supply chain professionals are, on the whole, confident that they can deal with the threat.

In a survey of 101 executives based at locations around the world, almost half (47%) said that their companies ‘had a plan’ to deal with the potential pandemic and were ‘very prepared’.

A further 16% said that whilst they had no specific plan, they were satisfied that they could cope and 20% stated that they did not foresee any risk to their business.

Only 18% of respondents said that their companies were unprepared for the impact of Coronavirus and that they believed that their business was at risk.

Commenting on the findings of the poll, undertaken in the last week of February 2020, Ti’s CEO Professor John Manners-Bell stated, ‘It is good to see that so many in the supply chain industry believe that they are prepared for a pandemic. Having a plan to deal with Coronavirus – or indeed any other threat – does not mean that their companies will avoid the impact of the spread of the virus. It will, though, help to mitigate its impact.’

However, he went on to caution against complacency. ‘The almost one fifth of businesses unprepared for the spread of the virus still represents a sizeable proportion of the industry. I would urge all companies to urgently undertake a risk assessment of their supply chains. Where are your suppliers and your suppliers’ suppliers based? Do you have alternative sourcing arrangements in place? Do your imports transit ports or airports in high risk areas? Have you sufficient buffer stocks? These are the types of question which supply chain professionals need to be able to answer.’

Ti Insight has created a dedicated hub for the latest news and updates on Coronavirus – Click here to find out more

Source: Transport Intelligence, February 27, 2020

Author: Transport Intelligence