COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Last year a series of severe weather events including the late-winter storm that hit the U.S. Northeast, followed by weather-related damage that closed the U.S.-Mexico Laredo border, and subsequent U.S. landfall hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria contributed to a doubling of global supply chain disruption and, for the first time, made the United States the region most-impacted by such disruption. These impacts, highlighted in a recent report, form part of the impetus for a new partnership between the University of Maryland and software...
Among the lasting effects of a catastrophic natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey is one that is undeniably positive: Knowledge. It's an understanding of what is needed in the wake of a disaster, which efforts worked and which failed, and how to be better prepared. The Smith School's Sandor Boyson has long studied how Walmart, FedEx and other big companies have adapted their disaster planning. Each mega-disaster brings its...
Setting aside NAFTA reform, a border adjustment tax and U.S.-China trade war as potential disruptors, "conditions especially favor the United States to remain a key hub in the global supply chain and to expand its competitive leadership in the future," says the Smith School's Sandor Boyson He sized up the U.S. supply chain base for a recent Washington, D.C., gathering of...
The WannaCry ransomware that has affected more than 230,000 computers in 150 countries now has largely halted its crawl across the globe, but experts say the attack's real impact might be yet to come. The assault could herald a turning point in cyber intrusions and in the way institutions handle cybersecurity, says the Smith School's Martin Loeb, and co-author, with with Smith School colleague ...
Professor Gary Cohen travels to China three times a year to speak to multinational companies. His latest trip, he says in an interview from Shanghai, has been a bit different. That’s because across China, in his meetings with leaders of global companies, all anyone wants to talk about is President-elect Donald Trump. "I'm hearing it every day from executives in China: 'What’s going to happen?' " says...