The coronavirus pandemic has made it clear that humans make supply chains vulnerable to failure. Greater reliance on automated solutions will be a given from here on out.
COVID-19 is about to put the global trading system through its most dramatic stress-test since World War II, with supply lines for essential food and medical goods entering a critical phase as the pandemic peaks in the U.S. and Europe.
Automakers are anxious to get their assembly lines rolling again, especially since leaving factories idle is costing them billions of dollars by the week.
As the coronavirus pandemic leads to anxiety over the strength of the world’s food supply chains, everyone from governments to banks are turning to the skies for help.
Companies from New Balance and L.L. Bean in New England to Gap in California are contributing to an ever-widening emergency initiative, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for 80 years.
Carmakers might seem unlikely candidates to build ventilators for coronavirus victims. But in fact they may be quite well-suited to churn out the highly intricate medical devices that are in critically short supply.