The European Logistic and Supply Chain system under the stress from the Coronavirus outbreak

The pandemic scenario Europe is currently facing, contributes at highlighting some fundamental features of the European supply chains and the professionals working in them.

One, the networked economy, with its high degree of division of production activities on a global level, is a source of vulnerability for the European economy. Most big, international companies know exactly where their products are located and usually think they do not need to overstock, this actually works for the normal demand and supply fluctuations but does not take into account contingencies.

Two, Supply Chain Managers have proven their adaptability to challenging conditions; logistics proved again to be a decisive factor for the European production system even during the shock of the crisis.

In Italy, France and Spain many executive, planning and support functions have rapidly adapted to work from home, following the recommendations from European Governments. Transport and warehousing services are up and running across European countries, even if operations are getting slow and harder to be maintained. Delays and cancellation of deliveries cause problems for 66 per cent of German and at least 28 per cent of Italian companies.