Global Supply Chains

Today's globally integrated economy makes [blank] necessary for businesses to look as far as possible for both the cheapest and the best resources. The benefit of global supply chains is that businesses can take advantage of low-cost goods and services in foreign locations to bring down operating costs. However, when a business depends [blank] outsourcing, it increases the number of risk factors outside of its control. Tsunamis in Japan shut down an auto assembly plant in Ohio when essential parts couldn't be shipped; severe flooding in Thailand delayed the manufacture [blank] computers for the US market when hard drives failed to appear. Ethical considerations can also be a factor. Even when a firm tries to ensure that the factory owners it contracts with provide fair wages and safe working conditions, abuse still occurs, and responsibility is hard to assess. A series of factory fires and disasters killed hundreds of workers in Bangladesh in 2013 and led [blank] the Disney Company canceling the production of its licensed products in that country.