New year, new agendas

Supply chains are notoriously complex to manage. Entering the third year of a global pandemic, with undoubtedly more disruption to come, it’s not becoming any easier.

It was interesting to see media commentary in January about the empty shelves in Australian retail stores. The author predicted a profound shift from “just in time” lean manufacturing process to one of “just in case”.

That means retailers will hold more inventory and source stock from closer to home. Their costs will be higher, but they’ll