The current COVID-19 crisis brings new meaning to the term disruption. Organizations and their supply chain managers need new supply chain management best practices -- and fast. Coronavirus panic buying, national lockdowns, sudden changes in buying priorities and shipping challenges are each having a different impact on supply chains. Companies are going to have to face the new reality, which is that we cannot make supply chain decisions based purely on economics, said Tom Derry, CEO of the Institute for Supply Management. Enterprises need to factor in a variety of disruptions, including geopolitical events, weather and health problems.

If digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) had its way, the much-dreaded practise of discounting in fashion and retail, could vanish overnight.

The $2.5 trillion fashion industry seems vulnerable to a long drawn out recovery, due to the discretionary nature of consumer spending on clothes. Retailers will now experience first-hand, the need for a digital-first mentality to even stay afloat. Empowered by AI insights, designers, merchandisers and buyers could soon predict customer preferences, way before they become fashionable. Even before the coronavirus pandemic crashed the global economy, disrupting supply chains and stalling consumer demand, the fashion industry was not looking forward to walking the 2020 ramp. Headwinds such as slowing demand, rising competition, shifting demographic-driven preferences and the rising carbon footprint of fast fashion, were already hanging over the sector's head.