Precision Convergence Webinar Series with Dr. Gary Gereffi
How Do We Build Supply-Chain Resilience? The Case of COVID-19 Medical Supplies
Dr. Gary Gereffi
With a high-level panel of leaders in science, technology, on-the-ground action, investment, and policy
A series of recent global disruptions, including the 2008-2009 global economic recession, the rise of the digital economy (also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0), the growing wave of economic nationalism, and the current COVID-19 global pandemic, have called into question the supply-chain vulnerabilities associated with numerous global industries. To build more robust cross-sectoral and international supply chains, we need a multidimensional conception of resilience that has different meanings for companies, global value chains (GVCs) that link lead firms and multiple tiers of suppliers, and countries. The interplay between these three levels is examined for four medical supply products of critical importance during the COVID-19 pandemic: rubber gloves, face masks, ventilators, and the vaccines developed specifically for COVID-19. Key strategies are highlighted that could guide managers and policymakers in building resilience for future supply-chain disruptions.
About the speaker
Gary Gereffi is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Director of the Global Value Chains Center at Duke University. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University. Gereffi has published over a dozen books and numerous articles on globalization, industrial upgrading, and social and economic development, and he is one of the originators of the global value chains framework. Recent books include: Global Value Chains, Governance and Globalization Strategy (Gary Gereffi, Pavida Pananond and Torben Pedersen, co-editors), special issue of Global Strategy Journal, 10(3), 2020; Handbook on Global Value Chains (Stefano Ponte, Gary Gereffi and Gale Raj-Reichert, co-editors), Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019; Global Value Chains and Development: Redefining the Contours of 21st Century Capitalism (Cambridge University Press, 2018); and Global Value Chains in a Postcrisis World: A Development Perspective (The World Bank, 2010).
Current projects include: (1) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the resilience of global supply chains; (2) the impact of U.S. protectionism on jobs and regional trade agreements; (3) evaluating how the digital economy and Industry 4.0 are likely to affect international business strategies and economic, social and environmental upgrading; and (4) shifting regional interdependencies in East Asia and North America, with a focus on China, South Korea and Mexico vis-à-vis the United States. Gereffi was invited to testify at the US Senate Commerce Committee hearings on “Implementing Supply Chain Resiliency” in Washington, DC on July 15, 2021. The hearing details, including a list of speakers, their written statements, and the video recording (webcast) are presented online.
About the series
The Precision Convergence series is launched to catalyze unique synergy between, on the one hand, novel partnerships across sciences, sectors and jurisdictions around targeted domains of real-world solutions, and on the other hand, a next generation convergence of AI with advanced research computing and other data and digital architectures such as PSC’s Bridges-2, and supporting data sharing frameworks such as HuBMAP, informing in a real time as possible the design, deployment and monitoring of solutions for adaptive real-world behavior and context.