Globally, the last two years have been extremely challenging and disruptive for the supply chain sector. Some notable disturbances were demand instability, labor shortages, transportation obstacles, supplier shortages and more. Another concern area has been the ongoing US-China trade war that has affected companies with global manufacturing networks. The trade conflict has led to multiple rounds of tariffs on goods ranging from automotive, energy, technology, healthcare, retail, and more. And now the Russia-Ukraine standoff isn’t helping the sector much.

The political, economic and business settings also turned out to be challenging. For example, in the UK and the Europe, the supply chain industry felt pressure because of Brexit, which caused increase in red tape and cross-border checks. There is no doubt that businesses have become increasingly international with the reduction of traditional barriers and the cross-border movement of products and services. However, the pandemic led to major disruptions in cross-border trade, which includes new protocols, further border controls, and new set of documents required for shippers and traders.