GRI Faculty Affiliate Nada Sanders Provides Guidance to Build Resilient Supply Chains during COVID-19

As unemployment claims continue to rise and companies struggle to maintain business as usual during COVID-19, supply chains are under increased pressure. Globalization has allowed for incredible advancements in technology, transportation, and communications, yet has also established a dependence on foreign manufactured products, which creates problems when global disruptions occur. GRI Faculty Affiliate Nada Sanders has been analyzing changes to medical equipment and pharmaceutical supply chains over the past few weeks and providing insight on how businesses can make supply chains more resilient.

Nada Sanders is a Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at Northeastern whose expertise lies in forecasting, predictive analytics, risk management and supply chain management. Read her featured interviews and publications since COVID-19 below.

Why your local store keeps running out of flour, toilet paper and prescription drugs – ”Although out-of-stock products are usually replenished within a day or two, the sight of bare shelves typically prompts more hoarding as people fear the supply of the goods they need may be cut off. This vicious cycle is a direct result of shortcomings of modern supply chains, which most companies, regardless of industry, now use.”

COVID-19: Why are supply chains breaking down? – “Because of efficient international trade, companies get the supplies they need on demand—no need to stockpile. But with dwindling inventories and supply chains at a standstill, will U.S. manufacturers be able to make medical supplies? That depends on whether companies get direction and financial incentives from the government, says Nada Sanders, professor of supply chain management. In this episode, we talk to Nada Sanders (distinguished professor of supply chain management).”

How medical supply chains can diversify beyond COVID-19 – “Antibiotics. Sedation drugs. Masks. Isolation gowns. Ventilators. With items like these needed to treat or care for those with COVID-19, shortages are inevitable. Yet mitigating shortages should be part of the healthcare system’s emergency plans — especially with procurement heavily weighted toward global sources, said Nada Sanders, a supply chain management professor at Northeastern University.”

How Businesses Can Adapt to Changing Mandates Under COVID-19 – ““The first thing you need to do immediately is triage, or what we call a crisis-management mode,” says Nada R. Sanders, PhD, distinguished professor of supply chain management at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. “The virologists all agree that this has the potential for major disruption.” Making quick changes must become the new normal for business owners. Use these strategies to adapt.”

Protective equipment costs increase over 1,000% amid competition and surge in demand – “The federal government’s Strategic National Stockpile has nearly emptied and states have been left to find PPE supplies on their own. The surge in demand has left importers, suppliers and purchasers scrambling. And price gouging has exacerbated the problem.”