Operational Resilience in the Post-Pandemic World
2024 Distinguished Fellow Jayashankar M. Swaminathan explores how firms can build operational resilience, focusing on governance, risk management, supply chains, technology and regulatory compliance.
supply chain
May 30, 2026
Jayashankar M. Swaminathan: Building Resiliency in Business Operations
Swaminathan, a Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow, will explore the importance of supply chain resiliency and discuss alternative strategies to build robust and adaptable operations during his talk Sept. 12.
HBR: Applying Machine Learning to Supply Chain Management
Learn more about the impact of machine learning on the resiliency of supply chain management in this recent article in the Harvard Business Review, co-authored by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Vinayak Deshpande.
The Pandemic Has Led to a Rethinking of Supply Chain Strategy
An analysis shows the overall number of suppliers and countries supplying goods did not change significantly from 2019 to 2021. Companies did shift away from riskier countries like China, and delivery patterns also changed.
Grand Challenge 2024: Building Business Resilience in Turbulent Times
Building resiliency is essential for managing today's distinct risks, yet how do businesses develop the agility and adaptability that would make them more resilient? That's the focus of the 2024 Kenan Institute Grand Challenge.
What the UAW Strike Could Mean for the Automotive Supply Chain
As autoworkers continue to strike, there are concerns about how the work stoppage could affect the automotive supply chain, which is still adjusting to challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Search of Supply Chain Stability: Credit Where Credit’s Due
The pandemic taught us that equity investors would be wise to seek to invest in firms with resilient supply chains. But is there a reliable way to identify firms whose supplier-customer relationships are less vulnerable to disruptions?
Uncertainty and Supply Chain Disruptions: What’s in Store for 2023
Economists and investors traditionally see uncertainty as a bad thing that suppresses growth and valuations, but new research shows that downstream uncertainty from customers in the U.S. supply chain can foretell expansion for firms and the economy.
Reuters: U.S. GDP May Fall Again in Q2 — Does It Mean Recession?
Just what does GDP say about the health of the economy? Perhaps not as much as we thought, according to a Reuters report that notes the collision of negative GDP growth — driven down in part by extraordinary supply chain issues — with vibrant employment numbers.
Europe’s Energy Security: More Independence or Different Dependence?
Much attention is being focused on energy supply security issues, especially for European oil and gas supplies. The latest Russian decision to halt natural gas sales to Poland and Bulgaria has reinforced that continent’s awareness of the perils of unreliable suppliers. Europe’s short-term focus is on sanctioning Russia and then backfilling the forgone oil and gas from other sources.
The Mother of All Supply Chain Shocks
Concerns about further supply-chain troubles are on the rise. Just a few months ago the “temporary disruptions” stemming from covid were predicted to work themselves out in 2022. However, businesses are now faced with the possibility of disruptions much more severe than those experienced to date. These stem from two sources: interrupted supplies in essential raw materials and agricultural commodities resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the potential for a rapid (and massive) spread of COVIC-19 in China resulting in suspensions to manufacturing operations there.
The World Has Changed
Out of the rubble of World War II, we collectively and deliberately built an institutional order that established norms of acceptable behavior and placed constraints on powerful nations. While work remains to create broader economic opportunity and some regions have suffered terrible conflict, the economic and financial globalization that this order fostered nevertheless yielded the greatest period of peace and economic prosperity that humanity has ever known. The more than 70 years since the war’s conclusion are, however, very atypical, and we are now returning to a setting far more familiar to any student of history, where strength and power supersede norms and rules. The world is characterized by a renewed struggle between illiberal autocracy and liberal democracy.
Is the U.S. Economy at a Boiling Point, or Just Simmering?
As the U.S. continues to face COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions, experts debate just how worked up the economy is in its current state. This week’s Insight serves as the first in a two-part point-counterpoint series, in which Kenan Institute Executive Director Greg Brown and Chief Economist Gerald Cohen hash out the arguments both for and against an overheating economy.
Supply Shortages: Here to Stay? The Roles Government and Emerging Tech Should Be Playing
Consumers will long associate the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic with seemingly apocalyptic searches for toilet paper, hand sanitizer and PPE. But even now, amid continued surges of the Delta variant, many global supply chains continue to experience disruptions at record rates. This week’s Kenan Insight invites our experts to weigh in on the immediate impact of these disruptions for business and society, the longer term effects across industries and the roles government and emerging tech should be playing to drive solutions.
Seven Forces Reshaping the Economy: Onshoring and Widening of Supply Chains
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed flaws in the global supply chain that have existed for years, with disruptions that have led to a scarcity of goods as diverse as PPE, food and toilet paper. In this Kenan Insight, we examine how threats to supply chains are forcing companies to rethink how they can position themselves to mitigate future risk.
The Unchaining of Supply Chains: Dismantling Disruption and Risk in the Post-COVID World
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed flaws in the global supply chain that have existed for years, with disruptions that have led to a scarcity of goods as diverse as PPE, food and toilet paper. In this Kenan Insight, we examine how threats to supply chains are forcing companies to rethink how they can position themselves to mitigate future risk.
May 30, 2026
Press Briefing: Pre-election Report Identifies Seven Major Forces Reshaping the U.S. Economy
Join the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise and the North Carolina CEO Leadership Forum September 22 for the launch of a new report examining the state of our national economy – and exploring its future.
May 30, 2026
Webinar: Rethinc. Labs — Accelerating Trends in Food Retail
Join our retail faculty and industry experts as they discuss the development of new online platforms and delivery options, the management of supplier relationships, evolving customer demand and expectations and changing personnel needs and safety.
May 30, 2026
Press Briefing: Food, Meds and Global Supply Chain Management Amid and Beyond COVID-19
A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar that will examine the impact COVID-19 has had on supply chains. Join Tuesday, June 2, at 11 a.m. EDT.
Decoding the Worst Quarter in Economic History
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 crisis has devastated the U.S. economy. But the particulars of this devastation are difficult to gauge, because unique aspects of the of the pandemic distort the data commonly used to assess such situations. In this Kenan Insight, we take a deep dive into the data to learn what it actually tells us about the economic impact of COVID-19, and suggest possibilities for a restart and recovery of the U.S. economy.
May 30, 2026
Press Briefing: How Can Retail Survive COVID-19?
A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar on the impact of COVID-19 on traditional retail, including product supply chains, innovative new channels for customer fulfillment and the resulting implications for commercial real estate. Join Tuesday, April 28, at 11 a.m. EDT.
Where Did All the PPE Go? The COVID-19 Disconnect Between Hospitals and the Healthcare Supply Chain
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in many supply chains, none more so than the healthcare supply chain. What factors have contributed to the alarming lack of readily available healthcare resources in the wake of overwhelming need? And what can be done to prevent such a disconnect from happening again? Professor Brad Staats, faculty director of the UNC Center for the Business of Health, and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Professor Jay Swaminathan present the findings of their most recent supply chain research in this week’s Kenan Insight.
May 30, 2026
Press Briefing: Where Did All the PPE Go? The COVID-19 Disconnect Between Hospitals and the Healthcare Supply Chain
A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar on the effects of COVID-19 on the healthcare system, its providers and supply chains. Join tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. EDT.
Innovation in a Time of Crisis: Entrepreneurs’ Response to COVID-19
Much has been said (and rightly so) about the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. But there is another side to the crisis. It’s a story of hope, based on collaboration and innovation. As healthcare needs and economic hardships intensify, entrepreneurs around the globe are stepping up to create solutions that will not only address immediate needs, but also effect long-lasting change. A panel of Kenan Institute-convened experts discussed this surge of innovation in response to COVID-19 on April 7, 2020. The full recording of this press briefing–-along with a deeper-dive analysis on the drivers of innovation amid the crisis by UNC Kenan-Flagler Professors Mahka Moeen and Chris Bingham-–is available in this week’s Kenan Insight.
May 30, 2026
Press Briefing: UNC Innovates to Inspire Hope in Response to COVID-19
A panel of experts convened by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and its affiliated Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise will be offering a press briefing via webinar examining the origins of innovation and how UNC and its affiliated programs are helping systems and individuals cope with the current crisis. Join Tuesday, April 7, at 11 a.m. EDT.
May 30, 2026
Rethinc. Research Seminar: Volodymyr Babich
Volodymyr Babich, Professor of Operations and Information Management at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, will present his co-authored paper with McDonough School Houston Professor Gilles Hilary “Linking the chains: can supply chain challenges become blockchain opportunities?” during a lunchtime seminar in Kenan Center 204.
May 30, 2026
Dean’s Speaker Series: David Taylor
Please join us for an exclusive conversation with Procter & Gamble Chairman of the Board, President and CEO David Taylor on Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 5–6 p.m. The event takes place in the Kenan Center Dining Room and is part of the Dean’s Speaker Series, hosted by Kenan-Flagler Business School Dean Doug Shackelford.
Institute Insights: Increased Use of Predictive Analytics Is Re-Shaping the Factory Floor
The growing use of predictive analytics to analyze manufacturing plant data has increased factory efficiency while re-shaping the employment relationship among both managers and factory floor employees, according to a new study from Eva Labro, Professor of Management Accounting, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School; Mark Lang, Professor of Accounting, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School; and Jim Omartian, Assistant Professor of Accounting, University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.