What will the future look like?

For entrepreneurs, every day is filled with challenges. That's how it is today and will be for the days to come. Today I have a different view on how we will be affected by the effects of COVID in the world. Since several countries have been fully or partially closed, there is a considerable risk that all production of goods will cause problems in other parts of the world. We see how Volvo in Gothenburg, Sweden, is closing due to a shortage of semiconductors from Asia. And Asia has been on lockdown on and off since the start of the pandemic. There is no evidence that the shortage will be solved any time soon.

No party is to blame for how they handle the COVID situation. However, the questions remain, how should a country proceed to regain confidence from investors? How can they develop a more sustainable industrial climate? Or could we create conditions for production locally to be able to supply our national markets?

The challenge for the industry is to think hard about how much emphasis should be put on turnover speed and just-in-time production. No one thought we would experience these kinds of shortages even in their wildest imagination. In recent years everything has been streamlined over and over again. The industry has put pressure on its suppliers to do their very best.

To ensure the price is competitive, companies start production In countries where the governments provide subsidiaries and other benefits for the production industry. The price for the customer entirely depends on the volume of the purchase, but no one wants to keep stock. At the same time, suppliers have to guarantee delivery in time or face penalties in case of delays. In cases where the deliveries don't work out, air freight is the only option to make it in time. But how does that work with environmental policies etc.? When you might lose money, do you allow yourself to ignore the certificates where you guarantee the environment and quality? And as a buyer, is it ok that the supplier you have uses air freight to keep delivery times, and how does it comply with the buyer's environmental policy?

There are many more questions, but the problem remains – what are we going to do now? We see what can happen and what are the consequences. Is it time to shift production back to our primary market? If so, isn't it time to make prerequisites for this on a political level? Wouldn't it be possible to set an environmental goal for this?

That being said, what is most important?

If one only knew !!!