insights - May 2020 - 2

overwhelmed with coronavirus cases among workers.
It may not be the Wild West, but the current situation
is akin to a scavenger hunt for many companies trying to
source what they need and others trying to find buyers
for what they sell.
Beyond the sheer scope of the dramatic, highly
visible changes in supply chain management, the
fact that these seismic shifts happened in a matter of
weeks has amplified the challenges. So have virusrelated labor shortages - temporarily or longer-term in
industries where people work in close proximity - and
the inevitable pricing highs and lows associated with
uncertainty and severe disruption. Transportation is
affected, too, with some trucking lines experiencing
delays and instances of rail cars being blocked by other
rail cars in yards.

Connecting and Reconnecting Links
example, is broken into several segments, with corn
and soybean oil intended for some markets that are
currently experiencing low demand, like ethanol used
for gasoline, and others with high demand, like food
production facilities. In the food marketplace, shoppers
seek increasingly scarce protein to feed their families,
while hog and poultry farms are faced with oversupply
due to the closing of meat processing facilities

FCStone_Ezine May 2020.indd 2

While these circumstances arose quickly and have
enormous repercussions, there is inventiveness at
work, as supply chain experts work closely with
suppliers, manufacturers/CPGs, retailers, foodservice
operators, distributors and logistics providers to best
sync goods and services with those who need them.
Think of it like a series of pipes. If one pipe is
unworkable or blocked, it can be unhooked and
connected to another source.

5/7/2020 1:24:32 PM

insights - May 2020

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