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Tablets & Capsules July 2020 9 Proper planning helped. Producers that had already qualified secondary sources had more options in the event of shortages. Suppliers with secondary sites were also in a better position than those with single factory locations. Most companies were able to meet contractual and forecasted demands, but the ability to meet unfore- casted demands came into question. The urgency of the situation strained ocean and air freight logistics, giving locally sourced materials a dis- tinct advantage. While manufacturing capacities may be able to handle strains on demand, moving raw materials and finished goods when shipping and freight have been disrupted becomes a big challenge. Local wins. Foresight and correctly predicting government reac- tions may have helped some suppliers, but anyone who knows how the government sector operates will find this strategy speculative at best. Another managerial les- son is to anticipate circumstances and develop a proac- tive response. Companies that took steps to test internal systems for the possibility of a remote labor force ahead of potential quarantines fared well by ensuring a more seamless transition to working from home. Increasing inventory across regional warehouses and preemptively increasing stock levels further mitigated risk. Excess inventory becomes a luxury instead of a working capital consideration. Both suppliers and producers have bene- fited by leveraging strong business relationships. against unplanned supply interruptions. After facing a shortage or stoppage on a critical item, companies real- ized the necessity of qualifying secondary suppliers or adding an existing supplier's alternative plant location to ensure that production could continue without interrup- tion. With COVID-19, instead of dealing with a sup- ply disruption of a single product or service, companies are facing extended supply challenges in every corner of their business simultaneously. This no longer feels like a test but rather a final exam, and it has exposed the intri- cate web of global supply chain interdependency. The 5 Ps—Proper Planning Prevents Poor Perfor- mance—are frequently taught in managerial training courses, but no reasonable amount of planning could have prepared our industry for this exercise, and my CEO for Dummies book doesn't have a chapter on pandemics. As I write this, states have only just begun to open up, and the longevity, community penetration, and possible resurgence of the virus are still unknown. While the situ- ation continues to evolve daily, here are some initial con- siderations about what we've seen and done and where we might go from here. When the economy shut down, global logistics immediately faced challenges. Demand for raw mate- rials surged, and production was strained replenishing depleted pharmacy and retail shelves. Production shifted from internal to external to optimize efficiencies on large- volume products. Everything was needed immediately.