The Science of Panic Buying and How to Stop It
Since the COVID-19 virus has spread through the United States, you’ve no doubt found your local stores sold out of essential items, such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and many food products.
We are drowning in numbers, and we no longer understand what they mean. Every day, headlines bombard us with figures meant to inform: billions in spending, trillions in debt, percentages signaling growth or decline. But for most of us, these numbers blur together. They register as “large” or “small,” but almost never as real. And that is more than a math problem. It is a civic one.
INFORMS has awarded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) its 2026 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Advanced Analytics, Operations Research and Management Science, for reengineering how global cloud infrastructure is planned and delivered, applying advanced analytics and AI to orchestrate complex fulfillment decisions across its rapidly expanding data center network.
In the rush to adopt artificial intelligence, many employers are now requiring that employees use AI tools. As you’re using AI, be intentional and selective. It’s critical that you know yourself. Research published in Management Science found that AI is most valuable for people who understand their own abilities and limitations. Assess yourself, so you can factor this into your process for incorporating AI into your work.
An audio journey of how data and analytics save lives, save money and solve problems.

Jeff Cohen
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
Catonsville, MD
[email protected]
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Since the COVID-19 virus has spread through the United States, you’ve no doubt found your local stores sold out of essential items, such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and many food products.
The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a very dynamic situation. We’ve had to adjust our plans accordingly. Shelter-in-place orders in individual states have disrupted the supply chain sooner than anticipated. Consequently, BMW Plant Spartanburg will close for a two-week period beginning Sunday, March 29, through Sunday, April 12. We will continue to monitor the ongoing situation very closely and adjust our plans as circumstances dictate.
Chinese exports plummeted 17.2 percent in dollar terms in the first two months of the year as the Asian giant grappled with the effects of the spread of Covid-19. The coronavirus outbreak has shed light on the risks of companies relying on China as a sole source of manufactured goods, as factory closures and transportation restrictions disrupted global supply chains in sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to electronics to auto production.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought medical supply chains into the spotlight. There has been a national shortage of testing kits, and at least one drug is already unavailable because of the outbreak, though it hasn’t been publicly named.
INFORMS President, Pinar Keskinocak, does her first live TV interview on the impact of supply chains amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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