Trying to predict demand or supply capabilities in a time of economic crisis “is like trying to catch a falling, disease-infected knife — in the dark.”

The coronavirus pandemic is just the latest disruption to hit global supply chains, and endanger the stability of key suppliers. But many retailers don’t seem to have learned the lesson of past such events.

The coronavirus pandemic is just the latest of an endless series of crises to hit companies around the world. And, like so many previous ones, it has exposed a serious lack of preparation by business leaders and supply chains.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought chaos to supplier-buyer relations the world round, resulting in widescale invoking of the contract-breaking clause known as force majeure.