Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

How to prepare the tech supply chain for the next outbreak: ‘You just can’t’

How to prepare the tech supply chain for the next outbreak: ‘You just can’t’

Electronics manufacturing guru Liam Casey says the coronavirus proves there are some events you cannot plan for. The global health crisis is generating fresh questions about whether the technology industry relies too much on China

Over the last 24 years, Liam Casey, an electronics manufacturing guru, has guided numerous brands through the intricacies of the Chinese supply chain. Today, he argues nobody could have prepared for the events of the past two months.

As the coronavirus inflicts incalculable damage to public health and economic growth around the world, every instinct of global business is being urgently questioned.

Casey is the perfect guy to answer the alarm. He is the founder and chief executive of PCH International, a product development and supply chain services company with core operations in San Francisco and Shenzhen, and – as Fortune magazine once described him – “the one you call for a factory connection, the guy you hire for your packaging design and the one you ask about FedEx negotiations”. The Atlantic magazine dubbed him “Mr. China”.

A triple whammy of cybersecurity threats, a trade war and the coronavirus outbreak are exacerbating a backlash to globalisation and generating fresh questions about whether the technology industry relies too much on China. It is perhaps not a surprise that Mr China made the case that companies really do not have any other choice.

“Over the last 20 years, a huge amount of the component assembly and manufacturing has been concentrated in China,” Casey said on a video call from his office in San Francisco.

“You can move your final assembly today, but if you want a purely independent supply chain, that is a massive investment. I can’t see any one company that wants to make it.”

The Cork, Ireland, native is one of the most prominent Silicon Valley evangelists for, and beneficiaries of, a globalised supply chain, where products are developed and assembled in Chinese factories and shipped across the ocean, affixed with recognisable American brand names like Apple, Amazon.com and Dell.

Like everyone else, PCH was affected when the coronavirus started to spread on the mainland over the Lunar New Year holiday. Its Shenzhen factory remained closed after the public holiday and reopened only after passing local inspections, two weeks behind schedule.

More than 100,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide. No known cases of infection were found among the 500 employees of PCH in China or the 60 in the US, Casey said. “Today we are back up at 100 per cent capacity, which has been a challenge,” he said.

Other manufacturing operations are still flagging. Foxconn Technology Group – formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry and Apple’s most important contract manufacturing partner – is hoping to return to normal operation in China by the end of this month.

Casey travels frequently to Shenzhen but is now grounded amid the outbreak. PCH has stopped all non-essential employee travel, and the company is using the video conferencing feature in Microsoft Teams to stay in touch.

Casey has had to field panicked calls from clients, who would normally be travelling to China this time of year to oversee prototypes of products for the next holiday season.

Casey recalled one customer telling him last week: “If I don’t get that product to market, all my colleagues, everyone on my team, will be out of work.”

Like the Sars outbreak of 2003, the coronavirus proves there are some events you cannot plan for, according to Casey. “You can strategise against trade wars, but when it comes to something like a global epidemic, you just can’t,” he said. “I was in China during Sars. You had a period where everything stops.”

This time, Chinese authorities moved relatively swiftly to contain the coronavirus, Casey said. But now it has spread far beyond China’s borders, and he worries about the response from other countries: “No one knows whether the worst is over or not.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “The Current Welfare State Can No Longer Be Financed”
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
Wizz Air passengers screamed as storm-battered flight diverts to Bologna
European postal services halt U.S. deliveries after Trump imposes new tariffs
Urban explorer finds abandoned luxury restaurant left to decay
Fidesz leader labels Péter Magyar a ‘bluffer’ amid escalating political spat
French rope park operator arrested for denying entry to Israeli children
Újpest thrashes Zalaegerszeg 4-1 to secure first win in five matches
Profit-margin cap costs retailers 13 billion forints a month, warns trade group
Curiosity rover finds coral-like rock on Mars hinting at watery past
U.S. green policy rollback drives investors to Europe’s sustainable finance market
Special funerals rise in Hungary: boat, aerial and forest burials gain popularity
Hungary’s Kiskunság region turning into semi-desert after extreme drought
Kopasz Bálint wins world kayak 1000 m title in Milan, making him triple world champion
Budapest’s Keleti railway station to close for four weeks for track overhaul
Balaton could be unfit for swimming by 2035 and dry by 2050, scientists warn
Leaked guidelines show Meta’s AI allowed flirty and racist interactions with children
Filming of ‘Emily in Paris’ halted after assistant director dies on set
Filipino guest workers sue after Hungary moves to deport them for pregnancy
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
A monster hit and a billion-dollar toy empire
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
Canada: Nurse Suspended and Fined 93 Thousand Dollars After Stating the World’s Most Well-Known Fact Since the Creation of Adam and Eve, That There Are Only Two Genders
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Whitney Bessent Backs Stablecoins to Boost Treasury Demand
Spain to Declare Disaster Zones After Massive Wildfires
Three-Minute Battery Swap Touted as Future of EVs
Beijing Military Parade to Showcase Weapons Advances
×