• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Geography Is Destiny: A Regional Perspective on the Global Village

Geography Is Destiny: A Regional Perspective on the Global Village

2020 Regional Guide to Global Supply Chain Management
May 5, 2020
Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

The subtitle of Tim Marshall’s eye-opening book Prisoners of Geography promises “Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World.” And they just about do. Marshall’s contention is that geography is, essentially, destiny: that a given country or region’s location, climate, terrain and access to natural resources determines the strength of its economy, relations with neighbors, and overall place in the pecking order of nations.

It’s hard to argue with that thesis. Yet those of us who think in terms of global supply chains tend to see the world as a cohesive entity made up of many interlocking and interdependent parts. We minimize the differences between nations in favor of this holistic view. So it becomes important from time to time to zoom in — to understand what makes each country unique, including the particular challenges that it faces as a thriving member of the global community.

Zooming in is precisely what we aim to do, in this second annual Regional Guide to Global Supply Chain Management. Here, you’ll find a series of reports and perspectives that shine a light on discrete parts of the world, and how they fit into that bigger puzzle. It’s essential that we study our trading partners from this “on-the-ground” perspective, to understand what it takes to keep product flowing between nations with such disparate economics, regulatory regimes, and strengths and weaknesses.

So here you’ll find commentary from close to home — covering the ins and outs of doing business in North America — along with expert insight into Asia and Europe. Certainly some common themes emerge, including the all-encompassing impact of e-commerce and the internet worldwide. But we also offer a look at issues that are unique to certain regions, such as the complexities of moving goods across the border between the U.S. and Mexico, the rapid transformation of China’s economy, the potential for massive disruption triggered by Brexit, the growing pains of Southeast Asia and Oceania, and the serialization of pharmaceuticals in Russia. By no means it is a complete picture, but taken together, the articles that follow are meant to deepen our understanding of how the regions of the world differ, as well as how they’re alike.

That said, one recent development has taught us, in the harshest possible terms, what all nations have in common: our vulnerability to a global pandemic. A disease that knows no boundaries, that cares nothing of human-made barriers to entry, brought worldwide activity to a screeching halt. We’ll be feeling its effects for years to come, as individual nations struggle to contain the coronavirus while defibrillating their dormant economies.

Here’s hoping this terrible disaster will leave us with lessons about preparing for similar (and maybe even worse) pandemics in future. Effective risk management should, after all, be top of mind for every supply-chain executive today. Memories of a disease, flood, earthquake or tsunami can be alarmingly short, causing carefully designed crisis plans to gather dust in uneventful times (if, indeed, such times even exist anymore).

Visions of a “global village” aside, Step One in being ready for anything is possessing the basic intelligence about all of the world’s regions that is essential to managing any supply chain. With that in mind, we offer our contribution toward this crucial understanding.

Read the 2020 Regional Guide to Global Supply Chain Management here.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Global Supply Chain Management Global Trade & Economics Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt
KEYWORDS Global Trade & Economics SC Security & Risk Mgmt
  • Related Articles

    It Takes More Than a Village to Manage a Global Supply Chain

    Perspective: South Korea Is Cementing Its Place As a Global Blockchain Leader

    Volatility Becomes Status Quo, So It's Key to Understand Regional Differences on Global Basis

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing