The supply-chain disruptions rippling across the business world are taking a heavy toll on small U.S. companies, which have fewer resources to absorb or push back on price increases and less leverage to pass along the higher costs to customers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Forty-four percent of small businesses reported temporary shortages or other supply-chain problems in March, according to a survey of roughly 800 companies by Vistage Worldwide Inc., a business advisory firm. A U.S. Census Bureau survey of small businesses, completed in early April, found supply-chain disruptions in wholesale trade, manufacturing and construction, among others. Multiple forces are driving supply-chain woes, from coronavirus infections among employees and temporary business closures to increased demand as vaccines take hold and restrictions ease. A backlog at California ports, the temporary closure of the Suez Canal and weather-related problems have created additional challenges. Smaller companies typically have less sophisticated purchasing departments than larger corporations. Read more. (Subscription required.)
Explore the many issues that arise when suppliers are unable to make deliveries of promised parts due to financial problems with ABI's Interrupted! Understanding Bankruptcy's Effects on Manufacturing Supply Chains.
