Managing Through Crisis: What Toilet Paper Can Teach Us About Supply Chains

What can toilet paper tell us about bigger supply chain problems? Professor Willy Shih explores how supply chains work, why many companies (like toilet paper and mask makers!) don’t have a lot of surge capacity, and what leaders can learn about their supply chains from this pandemic for the future.

Navigation:
1:20 - Why was toilet paper such a focal point early in the pandemic?
5:37 - How would you describe what supply chain is?
7:00 - How does the pandemic impact the economics of supply chains around the world?
11:14 - Should we be rethinking the global nature of the supply chain?
15:40 - How does a company that makes one product turn around and begin making ventilators?
18:56 - Do you think local providers will begin to thrive?
22:48 - How can institutions prepare for interruptions that might happen in the future?
25:00 - Do you see a change in the financial markets?

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