What Was the Biggest Supply Chain Interference in 2022? Here Are the Top 10 Disruptors

Resilinc, a global leader in supply chain mapping and risk monitoring, shared exclusive new data that revealed the top drivers of supply chain disruptions in 2022.

The data, compiled by Resilinc’s EventWatchAI monitoring database, noted that supply chain disruptions were up by 32 percent year-over-year (YoY), with an overwhelming majority (91 percent) being human-caused.

The Top 10 Supply Chain Disruptions for 2022 Include: 

  • Factory Fires
  • Mergers & Acquisitions 
  • Business Sales
  • Leadership Transitions
  • Factory Disruptions
  • Labor Disruptions
  • Legal Action
  • Cyber Attacks 
  • Recalls
  • Port Disruptions 

According to tea expert and World Tea News contributor John Snell, NMTeaB Consultancy, all of these supply chain disruptors are relevant to tea, as they are with many other businesses. Snell knows this firsthand as he has significant experience in the tea industry, working with everyone from global brand leaders to tea traders and private label packers, in management of procurement, development and sustainability.

Snell noted that port disruptions and labor disputes can be closely linked to the tea supply chain and can impact all tea businesses. Sometimes inventories have to be expanded, when possible, to address any ongoing supply chain situation. And, as the supply chain for the tea industry is a longer process than the supply chains of some other industries, any disruption can be particularly injurious.

Snell added: “On the organization side, factory fires are a big issue for tea. As an anhydrous product, even if not consumed by flames, smoke damage is a real risk. Good organizations should ensure complete separation between raw material storage, WIP [work in progress] and FG [finished goods], to ensure not all business plans go ‘up in smoke!’”

Insights on Supply Chain Disruptions in 2022

With 3,609 supply chain disruption alerts and an 85 percent YoY increase, 2022 trumped previous years with the most factory fires ever recorded in a single year. Much of this trend was driven by gaps in regulatory and process execution, as well as a shortage of skilled labor in warehouses. 

Last year also saw a large increase in labor disruptions around the globe, marking a 92 percent YoY increase.

Leadership transitions, like the appointment of new chief executive officers at the shipping company Maersk, also saw a big jump this past year with a 77 percent increase over 2021. Top-level management changes can also lead to modifications in corporate strategy.

Despite not making the top 10 list, Resilinc's data shows that geopolitical disruptions saw a 378 percent increase from 2021, predominantly stemming from the Russia/Ukraine war. Beyond that, airport disruptions jumped 189 percent and economic instability caused bankruptcies to climb more than 270 percent last year.

Resilinc’s data is gathered by its 24/7 global event monitoring Artificial Intelligence, EventWatch AI, which collects information and monitors news on 400 different types of disruptions across 104 million sources including traditional news sources, social media platforms, wire services, videos and government reports. Annually, the AI contextualizes and analyzes nearly five billion data feeds across 100 languages and countries, making EventWatchAI the industry’s largest, most comprehensive supply chain risk monitoring portfolio. 

Geographically, North America experienced the most disruptions in 2022, accounting for just over half (51 percent) of the total alerts issued for disruptions, followed by Europe and then Asia.

Of all the 15,354 EventWatchAI supply chain disruption notifications, more than half (56 percent) were impactful enough to trigger the creation of a WarRoom – virtual platforms in the Resilinc dashboard, where customers and their suppliers communicate and collaborate to assess and resolve disruptions.

To learn more about Resilinc, visit Resilinc.com.

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