Many businesses sourcing product domestically due to pandemic

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Published October 20, 2020 at 10:24 pm

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Even after we finally get through this pandemic (for some it’s starting to feel more like ‘if’ not ‘when’) there are many industries that will likely look different than pre-pandemic.

Based on recent research from the Conference Board of Canada the pandemic has forced many businesses to source more inputs from domestic suppliers, which could permanently change how supply chains are managed.

In a recent survey, 40 per cent of Canadian business owners said they plan to continue sourcing more inputs from local suppliers even after the pandemic is over—for large and medium-sized organizations that number was even higher: 50 per cent.

“Business leaders may be planning to bring their supply chains closer to home as part of a strategy to mitigate the effect of future global supply chain shocks” Julie Ades, senior economist at The Conference Board of Canada’s Global Commerce Centre.

However, while many made the switch to domestic sources in order to mitigate supply chain risks, two-thirds of business owners sourcing Canadian inputs said they still experienced domestic supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic.

Additionally, among survey respondents sourcing Canadian inputs, 38 per cent said disruptions attributed to the pandemic were having a high or medium impact on their ability to source inputs within Canada.

“The reality is that having a local or regional supply chain would not entirely have protected Canadian organizations or the Canadian economy from supply chain disruptions caused by the global pandemic,” Pedro Antunes, chief economist for The Conference Board of Canada, said in the same release.

“The best approach would be for Canadian businesses to have a plan in place to manage future shocks and disruptions,” he continued.

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