Impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain: methodologies and strategies applied by companies before and during the pandemic

Abstract

This research describes some methodologies, methods or business strategies traditionally implemented, as well as those used to face the global pandemic of COVID-19 in the control of the supply chain. Some inventory control methods used by companies prior to the appearance of COVID-19 are high-frequency negotiations, standard operating procedures such as FIFO and LIFO, reorder point, sales and operations planning, and material needs planning driven by demand. The study of the current business panorama and its response to the changes established after the appearance of COVID-19 show results that converge in the implementation of digital supply networks with mechanisms such as nearshoring, control towers, scenario planning, risk management of the supply chain as well as its extension to a greater number of suppliers and the development of models of modifications in real demand and delimited in the short term. The global pandemic situation brought restrictive sanitary measures for trade and industrial production, these have forced companies to have a very fast pace, this process has been possible thanks to the technology that allows the digitization of the inventory control process, collaboration , receptivity, agility, optimization and total visibility.