COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended employment in two vital respects: it has caused a global shift towards telecommuting as well as mass unemployment. How will these trends play out as the crisis evolves and, ultimately, the coronavirus is defeated?

How should companies manage their supply chains in today’s uncertain environment? 

The impact of Covid-19 is much bigger, affecting consumer demand as well as supply chains all over the world, and likely to last quite a bit longer.

Contrary to the media’s apocalyptic assessment, the COVID-19 crisis has not broken America’s food supply chain and the product shortages experienced by consumers are temporary blips. As is often the case, looking behind the headlines will reveal the real situation – and problems that genuinely need to be addressed.

This interview is featured in the Supply Chain and Logistics section of EPCA Q2 Newsletter.

Companies like Tyson and Smithfield Foods warn of a "breaking" supply chain "perilously close to the edge", but experts say there's plenty of meat.

The viral infection (COVID-19) and subsequent closures are straining the supply of meat to market. Beef production is down 25% and pork has declined 15% from a year ago, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Despite the closure of more than 20 meatpacking plants due to COVID-19, experts say the U.S. food supply is not in peril.

Pressure to reopen the world’s economies is intensifying. However, hasty reopenings will likely spur waves of resurging infections in location after location, followed by more closures and quarantines. 

MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi speaks with Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu and Romaine Bostick on the collapse of the food supply chain and the crash in oil.