20 June 2025
3 min read
How resilient are today’s supply chains? Read more about the shift from “just-in-time” to “just-in-case,” recent improvements, and the challenges UK businesses still face in building supply chain resilience post-COVID.
by Colin Watt, Marketing Director at ABGi UK
Are supply chains more resilient now than before the COVID-19 pandemic? This question remains pertinent, given the lessons from the crisis and the escalating global instability not witnessed in decades. Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and between Israel and Iran, alongside tensions in the South China Sea and Red Sea, continue to disrupt trade routes, shipping, and markets. These issues ripple through global trade, energy costs, and geopolitical stability.
While supply chains have gained some stability through heightened awareness and efforts to bolster resilience, significant weaknesses persist, particularly in specific industries. Below, we explore key improvements and ongoing challenges.
1. From “Just-in-Time” to “Just-in-Case”: Pre-COVID, UK firms leaned heavily on “just-in-time” inventory to cut costs, but its fragility was exposed during the pandemic. Many now adopt a “just-in-case” approach, maintaining larger stockpiles of critical goods to buffer against disruptions.
2. Enhanced Visibility: Companies are leveraging AI, digital platforms, and analytics for real-time supply chain monitoring, enabling faster detection and response to potential issues.
3. Diversified Suppliers: Over-dependence on single suppliers or regions proved risky. Firms are now spreading their supplier networks across multiple countries or regions, often incorporating dual-sourcing or local suppliers.
4. Near-shoring and Reshoring: While globalization remains, there’s a shift toward sourcing or producing closer to the UK (near-shoring) or domestically (reshoring) for key goods, driven by resilience needs and geopolitical concerns.
5. Proactive Risk Planning: Businesses are embedding scenarios like pandemics, conflicts, and climate events into their strategic planning, emphasizing robust risk management.
6. Government Initiatives: The UK’s 2024 Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy aims to secure essential goods and foster resilience through collaboration with businesses and academia.
7. Tech Investments: Adoption of AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics is growing to streamline operations, optimize inventory, and mitigate disruptions.
1. Fragile Sectors: Reports, such as those from the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, highlight that UK medical supply chains (e.g., medicines, PPE) remain weak. Brexit-related stockpiles, which cushioned the COVID-19 impact, are depleted, leaving the UK less prepared for future health crises.
2. Geopolitical Disruptions: Conflicts, like those impacting Red Sea shipping, drive up costs and delay trade, straining maritime routes.
3. Cost Barriers: Building resilience through larger inventories or diversified suppliers increases expenses. SMEs, in particular, hesitate to invest amid inflation and economic pressures.
4. Skills Gaps: The logistics sector struggles with recruiting skilled workers, hampering operational efficiency.
5. Import Dependency: Despite reshoring efforts, the UK relies heavily on global supply chains for many goods, exposing it to international shocks, especially in energy.
6. Complex Systems: The intricate, multi-tiered nature of modern supply chains makes achieving full visibility and control a daunting task.
The pandemic was a stark reminder of supply chain vulnerabilities, spurring UK businesses and the government to prioritise resilience. Compared to pre-2020, there’s notable progress in awareness and action. However, resilience is uneven, with critical sectors like healthcare still at risk, and new global challenges continue to arise. Supply chains are stronger but far from unbreakable.