Cast your mind back to March 2021. The story dominating the headlines was that one of the world’s largest cargo ships, the Ever Given, got stuck in the Suez Canal for days. This backed up hundreds of other cargo vessels and impacting billions in trade every day.
The impact of this event was big. Since its construction in 1869, the Suez Canal has been a vital organ of the global trade system. One-tenth of the world’s trade goes through this canal, so a blockage of any amount of time would have been devastating—and it was for many businesses and people around the world.
Bring your mind back to the present, and global supply chain disruptions are making headlines once again. Vaccines have significantly helped the recovery efforts of economies around the global, lending to a skyrocketing of consumer demand. This sharp increase in demand has put enormous pressure on manufacturers and distributors, leading to several reported shortages of both goods and labour.
And experts predict it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.
So, what is a place like Alberta (and Canada) to do?
To help answer this question, we invited Marcela Mandeville, CEO of Alberta Women Entrepreneurs and a global trade expert to the show.
In this episode:
- What is causing the current supply chain disruption
- Why we’re feeling the disruptions mostly now
- Impact of disruptions on Alberta entrepreneurs
- Building sustainable, economic and resilient supply chains
- Business and policy ideas to solve this challenge
- Importance of supply chain diversity
Resources Mentioned
About The Brief
In this series, co-hosts Scott Crockatt and Brittany Brander explore the big challenges we face as Albertans; celebrate stories of growth, innovation, and prosperity; and discover bold ideas to make life better for Albertans.
Check us out on social media
Twitter: @BizCouncilAB
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LinkedIn: @businesscouncilofalberta
YouTube: Business Council of Alberta
