Reorienting The impact of geopolitics on business supply chains
The international trading environment has proved challenging over the last couple of years as businesses have grappled with Brexit-related border friction, pandemic disruption and unstable economic conditions. On top of that, businesses are sensing geopolitical shaped clouds on the horizon.
This research sets out to explore the extent to which IoD members are taking geopolitical issues into account when considering their global operations, and the reasons behind their decisions. Our main findings are that businesses are looking for greater stability in their supply chains; they are willing to increase costs in the short-term to achieve this, and they feel that the UK should adopt a more cautious approach to China, balancing the superpower’s economic importance with its potential to disrupt global political relations.