Art Figueroa, vice president of operations and quality for North America and EMEA with Smith, addresses the severity and impact of the semiconductor shortage, and offers insight into how long it will last.

Vipul Kumar, senior manager of procurement with Aranca, discusses how companies are seeking to supplement manufacturing in China with sourcing in alternative locations, to mitigate risk and control costs.

Shay Scott, executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute, and professor in the University of Tennessee’s Master of Science in Supply Chain Management online program, weighs the factors that might influence American manufacturers to reshore production from Asia to the U.S.

In the midst of a growing supply chain crisis, suppliers are increasingly being forced to accept longer payment terms from buyers. Both sides are desperate to protect their cash, but the trend threatens to undermine the stability of suppliers, and can only serve to exacerbate the situation.

Is there any room for actual collaboration between suppliers and buyers, based on more than just price?

The vulnerability of complex global supply chains, built over decades of globalization, has been exposed by COVID-19 and geopolitical shocks.

You might think that the recent spate of supply chain disruptions would have caused a stampede of manufacturers out of China, or at least prompted them to diversify sourcing. But that hasn’t been the case.

Michael Taylor, partner for international trade with the law firm of King & Spalding LLP, discusses the major factors that are influencing the decision of American manufacturers on whether to shift production from Asia back to the U.S.