News Room

The everyday consumer impact of the new coronavirus is relatively mild in the US thus far, compared to places such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Italy. But that doesn’t mean Americans are free and clear should the contagion spread. The most immediate sign would be a panic-driven stockpiling of groceries.

Reese Witherspoon captured the cultural mood of our political, environmental and coronavirus-obsessed news cycle: overwhelmed.

“This morning, a friend said to me, ‘I can see you are overwhelmed. Just take a moment’ and I started to cry,” the actress wrote on Instagram Wednesday. “I just felt so heavy-hearted. There is so much happening... a devastating storm in my hometown of #Nashville, people suffering from a mysterious illness, people arguing over political ideology. So much hate and tension and discord. Honestly, this week has been a lot. And it’s only Wednesday.”

A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that disclaimers on some fake news stories make people more readily believe other false stories.

Covid-19 could be a once-in-a-century pandemic disease like Spanish flu. Indeed, social-distancing measures being adopted now are not unlike those taken a century ago. But shouldn’t we find new ways to get on with life?

Is your supply chain immature? Does it resemble a 14-year-old boy, as a planner I met at an Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning event described his company’s supply chain? Grown up beyond diapers but not yet making good decisions consistently. In an immature, disconnected supply chain, planners operate inefficiently and in reactive mode. Not only does this mode make the daily life of a planner difficult, but it does not position the company toward a sustainable supply chain capable of making decisions that are better for profits, people, and the earth. But the opportunity to make an impact for everyone working in supply chain – including Jeff Bezos – is enormous, and it starts with maturing the supply chain’s capability.