Coronavirus: the long-term impact on supply chains

The coronavirus itself may not trigger a wholesale reorganisation of supply chains, but it strengthens the argument for companies to reduce associated risks. One response might be to introduce more redundancy into supply chains to lessen reliance on single suppliers. Within Asia, that could benefit the likes of Vietnam, Korea and Taiwan, whose firms have demonstrated over the past couple of years that they are viable competitors to suppliers in China. Another response would be to simplify and shorten supply chains, which could harm suppliers across much of the region but potentially benefit many in China.