Understanding global supply chain crisis during COVID-19 and its implications on India

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was a unique instance in global history, especially when global supply chains are vastly inter-connected. The very nature of the calamity resulted in an immediate shutdown of most industries, which had a domino effect on supply chains across the world. Never-seen problems arose as the pandemic further entrenched its reach- problems that were never forecasted or could have been planned for. Industries worldwide were only looking to get through these times and survive. While the lockdowns did help to curb the spread, they resulted in complete disruption of the supply chains and crumpled the majority of the industries. Though 72% of manufacturing companies reported having been negatively affected by the pandemic, about II% of companies saw positive impacts of the pandemic. This was majorly seen in the life sciences industry, which saw a disproportionate increase in demand vis-a-vis the rise in costs due to the pandemic. Due to the inherent nature of the calamity, the manufacturing and the logistics sectors were heavily affected. The following material overviews of how these sectors spanned during the pandemic and the significant reasons for the same.