The literal symptoms of COVID-19 are, for most people, passing. But the virus’s impact on retail supply chains is permanent.

Turns out that the weaknesses that emerged in the wake of the pandemic, including inadequate safety stock and poor communication among supply chain partners, were already in evidence long before the first case of COVID-19. Now, though, they can’t be ignored. On this episode, we examine four trends that will continue to impact retailers when the virus finally subsides: an earlier peak in promotions and sales for the year-end holiday season, the difficulty of predicting demand and allocating inventory during supply crises, missed signals among shippers and logistics providers, and the need for deeper insights to prepare for buying surges such as the one that arose with the pandemic. Our guests are two experts from Esri, a supplier of geographic information system software: Cindy Elliott, director of business industry sector and corporate sustainability lead, and Gary Sankary, subject matter expert in retail industry marketing strategy. Hosted by Bob Bowman Editor-in-Chief of SupplyChainBrain.