This story is co-written by Salim Shaikh, digital transformation executive, Auto/Industrial at Blue Yonder, and Ehap Sabri, Ph.D., supply chain lead for Industrial Manufacturing at KPMG. The story originally appeared in IndustryWeek on May 11, 2020. Excerpts from the story below. To see the full story visit IndustryWeek.com.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been a humanitarian crisis that has gravely affected the global economy and is posing unprecedented challenges for supply chain business leaders. It is increasingly becoming a challenge to represent and evaluate the impact because by the time a response is formulated, the situation has changed, and the scale, speed and impact of issues have unexpectedly intensified. Automotive and industrial manufacturing plants are being shuttered around the world, which have impacted not just the OEMs but also their Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers.

Although it may be difficult to predict the exact consequences of COVID-19 and how to handle the immediate impact, supply chain organizations have to start planning for post COVID-19.