A supply chain is a step-by-step process to get a product. It’s not news that there have been shortages and deficits of vital products all over the country, but many people don’t realize how severe the supply chain crisis is.
Elisabeth V. works with a local medical supply company as their buyer. Elisabeth believes that a “smoothly running supply chain helps keep your cost down and your productivity up”. She went on to say “When you have no supply, you have to pay…upcharges”.
“What You Need to Know to Stay Ahead of the Supply Chain Crisis” and “No Turkey this Year?!?” are the types of headlines that have been plastered on billboards, repeated in commercials, and reported by news stations with a frenzy since the beginning of the holiday season. From candy bars to ketchup, the media is here to help you find places to get what you need.
These types of ads may seem helpful, but in actuality, they are exacerbating the issue.
“It’s creating a false panic… making people panic shop,” Elisabeth also remarked.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, shelves of toilet paper were cleared and entire gas stations were cleaned out due to panic buying, and Elisabeth blames the media for it. While it may seem like a convenient story, all it is doing is “creating more demand in a tight supply situation which makes the situation worse.”
Short staffing due to COVID-19 has impacted labor the greatest
“The impact to labor that Covid has impacted the supply chain the greatest,” Elisabeth remarked “Without labor, you don’t have people… spending money.”
The supply chain may not seem like an issue that affects young people and many people around the world don’t realize that it directly affects every single person who consumes goods. Elisabeth spoke on that saying,
“The supply chain affects everybody.” She also gave an example saying, “Texas’s freeze storm from February is still impacting plastic production to this day.”
When asked to describe the supply chain in one word, Elisabeth said, “Critical. As we’ve seen, one disruption can take a long time to recover. Understanding that without your supply chain, you don’t have your goods”

Elisabeth wants everyone to know that the supply chain is not going to fix itself. She wants everyone to “Think of ways you can be resourceful”, and “Be economical. Be smart.” She stressed, “It’s always everyone else’s problem until it’s yours.”