melbourne
Supply chains and just-in-time production: the chaotic logic behind the global economy
4:30am Fri 15 Apr
melbourne
About this session
The period following WWII gave rise to a huge expansion of global production and trade, facilitated by an incredible array of innovations in international logistics and finance. From containerisation to vast distribution centres using the latest computer technology to process and sort millions of packages per hour; global or regional production networks to free trade and financial flows. Amazing efficiency has been acquired, with the brutal logic of competition sweeping aside those who couldn't keep up. And yet the last 2 years of COVID, economic crisis and rising imperialist tensions have exposed the fragility of this entire process. How is capitalist "globalisation" faring today?
Recommended Reading
Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate [book]by Rose George
"Lean thinking", not panic buying, is why we're seeing shortagesby Red Flagin Red Flag