Efforts are underway in the U.S. to break China’s monopoly on the mining and processing of rare earth minerals, which are found in many high-tech products for consumer, industrial and military use. But it’s going to be a long haul to achieve that goal.

Much attention has been paid to the ability of individual companies and their supply chains to withstand disruptive events. But what makes an entire country resilient?

COVID-19 has been the ultimate digital accelerant, giving advanced industrial services a big role to play in shaping the new economy.

COVID-19 has thrown the global economy into turmoil, interrupting normal operations everywhere, wreaking havoc on supply chains, and causing a severe drop in global trade. Asia, of course, is not immune.

These are perilous times for all supply-chain partners, but especially for smaller suppliers who lack ready access to working capital, and are existing on extremely thin margins in a severe economic downturn.