The distortions in the global supply chains, triggered by the corona pandemic and intensified again by the wreck of a huge container ship in the Suez Canal, have multiplied freight prices and brought the subject of “supply chain management” into focus.
At the online event “Talk @ Raiffeisen”, Franz Staberhofer, head of the logistics center at the FH Upper Austria, Jrgen Gumpinger, who is responsible for international supply chains at KTM, and Johannes Hdlmayr, chairman of the supervisory board of Hdlmayr International AG, discussed the current status and future challenges in procurement.
It is precisely this area in companies, to which often little attention has been paid, that will gain importance in the medium to long term, said logistics professor Staberhofer. The statement by the Chinese leadership to concentrate more on the domestic market in the future, the “Green Deal” of the EU Commission, “volatile political decisions” and a European supply chain law would change the framework conditions permanently, said Staberhofer. It is certain that constant change will become the new normal.
For KTM manager Gumpinger, the “arbitrariness of some countries” is currently a challenge. As an example, he cited quarantine regulations that would make life difficult for international companies.
That being said, “supply chain management” will in future play a central role in strategic planning, also with regard to the requirement to act sustainably. “If we want to shift transports from road to rail, then customers also have to accept longer transit times,” said Hdlmayr.
“Supply Chain Act is Coming”
An EU-wide supply chain law will come, said Staberhofer. “The Germans just came forward.” This means that producers would have to take responsibility for people and the environment along the entire supply chain.
The two managers are not at all negative, “provided that politicians don’t throw us bureaucratic beating between our legs,” said Hdlmayr. The responsibility for the respective product is given anyway, said Gumpinger. A supply chain law could bring additional transparency.
Of course, many suppliers must also be convinced of the advantages of this transparency. “There are still many reservations, some of them fear,” said Gumpinger. That is a central future task.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
