Before the pandemic, the world was filled with “I want it now!” consumers. High-speed internet paired with social media led to a FOMO culture that had stores and brands in a constant scramble to keep up. Then COVID-19 came along and the word disruption hardly seems appropriate. It was more like a baseball bat to the knees. In the half-year that has passed since the pandemic began, supply chain diversity, artificial intelligence and 3D design are taking up more significance in the fashion conversation.
According to the Harvard Business Review, manufacturers in dozens of industries have had to face the epidemic’s impact on their supply chains. “Unfortunately, many are facing a supply crisis that stems from weaknesses in their sourcing strategies that could have been corrected years ago,” wrote Tom Linton and Bindiya Vakil in an article outlining the need for more resilient supply chains.