The global semiconductor chip shortage is big news right now, but there are also myriad other raw materials, components, and products that can be equally as difficult to source. The global pandemic took its toll on supply chains in 2020, and then continued to affect them just as many of the world’s economic engines began to roar back to life. A tight labor market, shipping container shortages, and seaport congestion were among the factors exacerbating the problem.

Whereas Institute for Supply Management’s February 2021  highlighted coronavirus impacts primarily related to Chinese supply chains and manufacturing, by March 2021 it was clear that organizations were experiencing global disruptions pertaining to supply availability, manufacturing capacity, lead times, and transport of goods. “These global disruptions were beginning to impact revenues, demand, and operations,” ISM reports. fermentum faucibus. Cras tempor semper ligula. Pellentesque vel tortor porttitor, lacinia ante sed, ornare sapien. Aliquam eleifend rhoncus dui eget sollicitudin. Vivamus condimentum felis ac enim lacinia euismod.

With the first half of 2021 now firmly in the rear-view mirror, supply chain disruptions continue to linger across many B2B and B2C sectors. Chip lead times, for example, increased by seven days to 18 weeks in May 2021 (over the prior month), an indicator that chipmakers’ struggles to keep up with demand are worsening. “That gap, already the longest wait time since the firm began tracking the data in 2017,” “is now more than four weeks longer than the previous peak in 2018.”