Adapting Operations Management and Supply Chain Strategies in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Adapting Operations Management and Supply Chain Strategies in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The wake of the COVID-19 pandemic spelled a wave of rapid rethinking of business strategies by business leaders in many industries. The requirement of social distancing in workplaces and the reduced number of people who could work in a common space caused a shift from physical office work to work-from-home initiatives (Hald & Coslugeanu, 2022). Notably, this major shift erupted from the thinking patterns regarding how business is conducted. However, this shift came at a cost for many businesses, making them vulnerable to technological externalities. Essentially, most businesses had to make ad hoc decisions to install systems to enable their workers to still perform their duties without coming to the workplace. Particularly, businesses had to seek finances to support this shift, and competitors with solid technological backgrounds easily obtained a competitive advantage over their counterparts. The change to this new work operation influenced the thinking in operations management and, consequently, the supply chain operations in various ways.

Following this, the disruption from the external environment occasioned by the pandemic shifted most operations from their physical forms to virtual platforms. Dealings with suppliers online became more common than ever as a new form of thinking. Business operations leaders started thinking of the supply chain from a technological perspective to cut costs and improve efficiency. However, this could not be applied to all businesses as handling physical goods requires physical operations. Even to this extent, the use of robotics has become more relevant to handling the movement of goods, leading to massive job losses. Further, from my point of view, the disruption helped in making supply chain decisions more focused and effective in solving inherent supply chain challenges.

References

Hald, K. S., & Coslugeanu, P. (2022). The preliminary supply chain lessons of the COVID-19  disruption—What is the role of digital technologies? Operations Management Research, 15(1), 282-297.

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In each assignment, you are to think critically about the topic and apply your knowledge. Analyze and just not summarize. Use APA headings for clarity and provide references as needed.

In March 2020, organizational leaders across the world were faced with emergency decisions regarding how their business would continue and how products and services would be produced and into the hands of the consumer. The COVID pandemic demanded a shift in thinking patterns regarding how we do business, which included a serious look at the internal vulnerabilities to a changing external environment.

In this assignment, think about how such changes affect the strategy of operations across the system. How have changes in the external environment affected the ‘thinking’ of operations management? Include in your analysis the impact that these changes have on the supply chain decisions in the organization.