Which factor disrupts supply chains by causing delays due to events like health crises?

Which factor disrupts supply chains by causing delays due to events like health crises?

• A. Tariffs
• B. Quotas
• C. Trade Wars
• D. Pandemics disrupting supply chains

Answer: (D)

Supply chains are vulnerable to systemic shocks that ripple through production and logistics. A health crisis creates widespread disruptions that slow or halt manufacturing, reduce worker availability, and trigger government measures like lockdowns and travel restrictions. These effects ripple through the entire chain—from raw materials to finished products to delivery—raising lead times and causing delays. This makes pandemics the factor that directly links health crises to delays in supply chains, more so than policy tools or geopolitical tensions, which influence costs or access but not the same broad, delay-causing disruption a health crisis brings.

Supply chains are vulnerable to systemic shocks that ripple through production and logistics. A health crisis creates widespread disruptions that slow or halt manufacturing, reduce worker availability, and trigger government measures like lockdowns and travel restrictions. These effects ripple through the entire chain—from raw materials to finished products to delivery—raising lead times and causing delays. This makes pandemics the factor that directly links health crises to delays in supply chains, more so than policy tools or geopolitical tensions, which influence costs or access but not the same broad, delay-causing disruption a health crisis brings.