ResearchPDF Available

Covid-19 and International Business Revisited

September 2020

DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.10714.57281

Authors:

University of Oklahoma

The corona virus has changed international business for the time being and maybe for a long time to come. Some believe it depends how fast we can develop a vaccine. But how likely is a vaccine that will cure the entire world population. Here we are already in international completion and as it looks in September 2020, the Russians may be in the lead with their sputnik vaccine. The Chinese not far behind and the USA may pull a surprise bypassing protocols to have a vaccine before the presidential election in the USA. But in the meantime the international business is slowing down and national focus is taking over going from just in time (JIT) to more warehousing. While in corona lockdown with no conferences to attend we reflected on some of the conferences of the past in relation to international business. Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Thai-Cambodian Logistics Ventures looked at the business ventures between Thailand and Cambodia. With the borders closed that business slowed down. Cambodia used to import a lot of Thai goofs and Thai companies still have a fair share of investments in Cambodia. Hermann Gruenwald (2014). Thai Logistics Management Students' Perception of Cambodia this paper showed that Thai students often had a different perception of Cambodia, and the covid-19 pandemic has let more to isolation and did not allow Cambodian workers to come back to Thailand to work on the fields and construction sites of Thailand. But not only had the relationship with Cambodia suffered also those with other neighboring countries like Laos and Myanmar. Hermann Gruenwald (2013). Cross-Cultural Awareness of Thai Logistics Management Students. Explored the cross-cultural awareness level of future Thai logistics professionals. While Thai companies are looking for Thai managers to work in the neighboring countries it is hard for them to fill these positions. Thai managers do not want to work in the neighboring countries mostly due to quality of life issues. This is quite different with Japanese and Korean managers who are used to be send to other ASEAN countries. ASEAN was a buzz word for long time but never really took off, and when we look what covid-19 did to the European Union (EU) you can imagine how it plays out in ASEAN. It is especially difficult to send Thai female managers to other countries even so they are often better negotiators as Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Women's Negotiation Power in the Logistics Industry – A Study of Thai Generation Y pointed out. Chinese on the other hand sending a lot managers and workers into all ASEAN countries and help not only to enhance the trade with china but also the trans-border trade. Hermann Gruenwald (2014). Enhancement of the Transborder Trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (MSR) through Port Infrastructure pointed out the potential of the Mekong which the Chinese are fully aware off, connecting China with a shippable Mekong with the delta region and the ocean. But also the river trade has been affected by the covid-19 crisis and has not made it easier to bring the region together. International Business needs to be rediscovered for the New Normal after covid-19 to set int. The following references provide greater details to the before mentioned.

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Covid-19 and International Business

Revisited

Dr. Hermann Gruenwald

The corona virus has changed international business for the time being and maybe for a

long time to come. Some believe it depends how fast we can develop a vaccine. But how

likely is a vaccine that will cure the entire world population. Here we are already in

international completion and as it looks in September 2020, the Russians may be in the

lead with their sputnik vaccine. The Chinese not far behind and the USA may pull a

surprise bypassing protocols to have a vaccine before the presidential election in the

USA. But in the meantime the international business is slowing down and national focus

is taking over going from just in time (JIT) to more warehousing. While in corona lockdown

with no conferences to attend we reflected on some of the conferences of the past in

relation to international business. Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Thai-Cambodian Logistics

Ventures looked at the business ventures between Thailand and Cambodia. With the

borders closed that business slowed down. Cambodia used to import a lot of Thai goofs

and Thai companies still have a fair share of investments in Cambodia. Hermann

Gruenwald (2014). Thai Logistics Management Students' Perception of Cambodia this

paper showed that Thai students often had a different perception of Cambodia, and the

covid-19 pandemic has let more to isolation and did not allow Cambodian workers to

come back to Thailand to work on the fields and construction sites of Thailand. But not

only had the relationship with Cambodia suffered also those with other neighboring

countries like Laos and Myanmar. Hermann Gruenwald (2013). Cross-Cultural

Awareness of Thai Logistics Management Students. Explored the cross-cultural

awareness level of future Thai logistics professionals. While Thai companies are looking

for Thai managers to work in the neighboring countries it is hard for them to fill these

positions. Thai managers do not want to work in the neighboring countries mostly due to

quality of life issues. This is quite different with Japanese and Korean managers who are

used to be send to other ASEAN countries. ASEAN was a buzz word for long time but

never really took off, and when we look what covid-19 did to the European Union (EU)

you can imagine how it plays out in ASEAN. It is especially difficult to send Thai female

managers to other countries even so they are often better negotiators as Hermann

Gruenwald (2015). Women's Negotiation Power in the Logistics Industry – A Study of

Thai Generation Y pointed out. Chinese on the other hand sending a lot managers and

workers into all ASEAN countries and help not only to enhance the trade with china but

also the trans-border trade. Hermann Gruenwald (2014). Enhancement of the

Transborder Trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (MSR) through Port Infrastructure

pointed out the potential of the Mekong which the Chinese are fully aware off, connecting

China with a shippable Mekong with the delta region and the ocean. But also the river

trade has been affected by the covid-19 crisis and has not made it easier to bring the

region together. International Business needs to be rediscovered for the New Normal after

covid-19 to set int. The following references provide greater details to the before

mentioned.

Keywords:

Covid-19, international business, global business, global economy, logistics, global

supply chain, supply chain management, procurement, Mekong Region,

References:

Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Thai-Cambodian Logistics Ventures. June 2015.

Conference: 3rd Academic Conference on Thai-Cambodian Relations, Kdei Karuna

Organization, Phnom Penh/Cambodia, co-funded by German International Cooperation

agency, GIZ and Open Society Foundation (OSF) At: Bangkok

Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Women's Negotiation Power in the Logistics Industry – A

Study of Thai Generation Y. December 2015. Conference: 27th International

Conference on Advances in Business Management and Information Technology

(ICABMIT) At: Bangkok

Hermann Gruenwald (2014). Enhancement of the Transborder Trade in the Greater

Mekong Sub-Region (MSR) through Port Infrastructure. September 2014. Conference:

3rd Mekong Sub Region International Conference (MSSRC) "Mekong Region and

ASEAN in Transition: People and Transborder Issues” Mekong Sub-region Social

Research Center (MSSRC) At: Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

Hermann Gruenwald (2014). Thai Logistics Management Students' Perception of

Cambodia. May 2014. Conference: 2nd Academic Conference on Thai-Cambodian

Relations, Kdei Karuna Organization, Phnom Penh/Cambodia, cofunded by German

International Cooperation agency, GIZ and Open Society Foundation (OSF) At:

Bangkok, Thailand

Hermann Gruenwald (2013). Cross-Cultural Awareness of Thai Logistics Management

Students. August 2013. Conference: 2nd Business Management International

Conference BBS-BMIC 2013 Burapha Business School, At: Pattaya, Thailand

Gruenwald, Hermann (2020). Covid19 New Normal Economy. September 2020. DOI:

10.13140/RG.2.2.11572.48008 Project: Corona & Collateral Damage

Gruenwald, Hermann (2020). Toilet Paper there Hottest Item during Covid19.

September 2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26481.92004. Project: Corona & Collateral

Damage

Gruenwald, H. (2020). Parcel Delivery Services boom during Covid-19. August 2020.

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35180.18569 Project: Logistics in Asia

Gruenwald, H. (2020). Procurement and Supply Chain Management Skills After Corona

-The New Normal. August 2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33300.12167.

Project: Corona & Collateral Damage

Gruenwald, H. (2020). Global Supply-Chain Management New Normal After Corona

(AC). July 2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.23712.20487 Project: Logistics in Asia

Gruenwald, H. (2020). Entrepreneurship in the New Normal Corona Boost or Blast. July

2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29374.51528 Project: Corona & Collateral Damage

Gruenwald, H. (2020). Warehousing after Corona The New Normal in Warehousing.

July 2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15454.66889/1

Gruenwald, H. (2020). International Business the New Normal After Corona (AC).

July 2020. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22894.64326

Gruenwald, H. (2020). New Normal after Corona.

June 2020, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13220.30087 Project: Economy

Gruenwald, H. (2020). Logistics Industry after Corona The New Normal in Global

Supply Chain Management June 2020, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.29473.22881 Project:

Logistics

Covid-19 and PVC

Research

Full-text available

Mar 2021

Hermann Gruenwald

The covid-19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 called for drastic measures including social distancing, face masks as well as screen. Not many people make the connection between covid-19 and PVC. What is PVC? In medical terms PVC means premature ventricular contractions which in laymen’s terms is an irregular heartbeat which feels like the hearth is stop beating while in fact it is an extra heartbeat. But this is not what this paper is about. PVC also means poly vinyl chloride which is a plastic. Polyvinyl chloride is the world's third-most widely produced and used synthetic plastic polymer. About 40 million tons of PVC are produced each year worldwide and in 2020 maybe even more. PVC comes in two basic forms: rigid and flexible. The rigid form of PVC is used in construction for pipe and in profile applications such as doors and windows. While the flexible foil is used as food packaging material which is now used to make protective screens for covid-19 which are held in place with the mostly blue plastic pipes. PVC can be easily recognized by its blue color which stems from its applications as water pipe which can easily be glued together with an inexpensive glue. However the pipe also comes in white color and in more upscale screen applications in the industrialized countries this is the preferred color of the screens on sales counters and cash registers. These screens are usually constructed not by plumbers who normally use the material but by exhibition construction companies who are familiar with building booths and displays with Plexiglas. Plexiglas is often used as the actual transparent screening material held in place by PVC pipes or profiles in more elegant solutions. As the new normal gets established these initial temporary solutions become more permanent and take on different form. The screens are also used to separate customers on dining tables in cafeterias and even as separators between urinals in toilets. Public transportation like buses also use the screens to separate the driver from the passengers especially in emerging markets where these separations did not exist prior to the covid-19 crisis. Naturally pvc is also being used for personal face shields, which initially in March 2020 were produced with 3D printers until they went into mass productions and now can be purchased for as little as 50 cents. PVC plants were so important during the covid-19 crisis that they were considered mission critical and remained open even during shutdowns. There are also PVC medical products like tubing, IV bags, gloves, not to mention wall and floor covering as well as upholstery on patient beds and hospital room furniture. This public health crisis was a blessing for the vinyl industry and they became one of the winners of the covid-19 crisis. An interesting question will be what we do with all the PVC when the crisis is over, how we recycle it?

Covid-19 and Leisure Real-Estate

Research

Full-text available

Feb 2021

Hermann Gruenwald

The covid-19 virus that spread over a year ago from Wuhan China late in December 2019 has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. We are now dealing with a second wave which has hit the northern hemisphere hard. As a result countries like Germany were in lock down from December 16 till January 10, 2021. This means more homeschooling and homeoffice. Despite of that only 6.4% of companies in Germany want to reduce their office space according to the Institute der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IDW) so office leases remain stable despite popularity of homeoffice. Only large firms with over 250 employees foresees a reduction in office space demands due to homeoffice one third of them will allow their employees spent more time working from home. It also may mean remodeling the office to make it more like a Starbucks with cow-working space. But with more time at home people also get cabin fever and look for an escape. Entertainment venues including theaters and movie houses remain closed as well as fitness centers. Also vacationing abroad or in domestic hotels has become more difficult. So were to spend more time away from? Camping has become an alternative some start out with a simple tent or upgrade to a caravan or motor home. But where to pitch your tent as even wild camping in the Alps is becoming seriously regulated in covid-19 times with social distancing. The following website https://www.pincamp.de provides reservation for 10,000 camp sites in 38 countries. But Campgrounds are booked out and long term camping spots are being bought and leased at premium prices, popup campgrounds are the latest development in Germany. Also in Germany so called Schrebergarten, Kleingarten, Heimgarten, Familiengarten, Parzelle, Datscha, Laube are small gardens on average 370 square meters with a small cabin ca 2.00 x 4.00 costing on average 375 Euro a years. In all of Germany thee are almost 1 Million organized members in Kleingaerten, In Poland 850,000 while in Norway only 2,000. In Berlin there are two gardens per 100 citizens in Munich only 0.6 gardens per 100 available. The Lauben colonies as these private nonprofit organizations are called, cannot satisfy the increasing demand which grew 30% over the last few years and being accelerated by covid-19 and the desire to spent time out of home. So more people lease or purchase agricultural land to become hobby farmers or as we call them in the USA gentlemen farmers who farm less for profit but to have an outdoor leisure experience combined with a workout and more time with family and friends. These leisure time properties in the USA are often lakefront property as on Lake Eufaula with vocational rentals and marina in Oklahoma or in Arkansas in the Ozark Mountains north of Bentonville the Wal-Mart Headquarter in a place called Bella Vista a retirement community founded in 1917 as summer resort. In Bavaria agricultural land so called Gruenland is being rezoned as Wochendgrundstuecke or Freizeitgrundstuecke (leisure plots) with access and utilities provided at various levels. This type of zoning is one step below residential and meant for temporary second homes like Russian datschas. Naturally during covid-19 with this also the prices for agricultural land have gone up together with an increase in demand for locally grown food and a shorter supply chain. Despite or because of Covid-19 real-estate prices have gone up along with rents in a general increase of cost of living.

Covid-19 and Outdoor Advertisement

Research

Full-text available

Jan 2021

Hermann Gruenwald

How did the virus from Wuhan China change the world since December 2019? There have been many changes and countless papers focusing on covid-19 and its collateral damages. The economy has suffered and impacted many industries and areas including advertisement. The four Ps of marketing as we all know including, product, price, place and promotion. Promotion comes in many forms and most people think of it as advertisement. In advertisement one of the oldest forms is outdoor advertisement in form of signs and billboards. Billboards come a long way from the signs along the highways and byways of America to the Neon signs of Time Square New York. But it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of outdoor advertisement and its return on investment (ROI). Location, location, location is the most important factor in real-estate and outdoor advertisement location. Location impacts the daily effective circulation (DEC) the number or people and vehicles who pass the sign every day. We are also about the opportunity to contact (OTC) which means make actual eye contact with the sign more specific the visual adjusted contact (VAC). Traffic poles and census data can help us estimating these numbers. But how we know the actual outdoor campaign works we can use QR codes and code names specific to this campaign along with hashtags used in social media like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Out of Home (OOH) Media has taken on new forms with digital displays and are still a goo alternative to print, radio, and TV or should we better say support those forms of advertisement along with in-store adds. Digital displays often take the place of static billboards as there are billboard and sign ordinances in many countries which go along with existing building permits. It is often difficult to get a new location approved and therefore static billboards are getting converted into digital ones which can provide a number of advantages including cameras and sensors which measure the contact they make with passing traffic. With the internet of things, the interaction of the billboard with motorists and pedestrians alike can increase and even measured. These digital billboards not only save production costs and time. But they are also flexible in time and duration and can be time and location specific, while serving several campaigns and companies at the same time. Nighttime illumination has been less of a problem than daytime glare. OOH advertisement has global guidelines for measurement by ESOMAR and EACA which include before campaign measurements as well as proof of play (POP) self and independent verification along with mobility and movement behaviors which have changed with covid-19 and home office and homeschooling. Geo-conquesting, geofencing and geofarming are especially important in the New Normal and more online activities are being triggered. The are also moving walls or truck mounted digital displays which can change location and have their own power supply this is a concept which is very popular in Asia which allow for adjusting reach and frequency of the advertisement. DOOH Digital out of home advertisement will be redefined and certainly become more personalized and is priced differently from other forms of advertisement, RTB, programmatic direct as well as programmatic guaranteed and non-programmatic guaranteed pricing options for the changing behaviors of consumers in the New Normal of covid-19.

Covid-19 Immunization

Research

Full-text available

Jan 2021

Hermann Gruenwald

The virus that spread from Wuhan China late in December 2019 now already has been around for one year and just now end of December 2020 we start the covid-19 immunization program. In the fight against what has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 people believe that the vaccine will be the miracle wand that ends all problems. The development of the vaccine was for many slow coming despite the urgency created by the worldwide pandemic and the collateral damage. Normally the development of a vaccine would take about three years. As of November 24, 2020, large-scale (Phase 3) clinical trials were in progress or being planned for five COVID-19 vaccines in the United States: AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, Janssen’s COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine according to the US Center for Decease Control and Prevention (CDC). Currently worldwide there are more than 250 covid-19 vaccines under development. Why so many different vaccines? Are they all the same? No, the different vaccines have different transport conditions and shelf lives. Today’s conventional cold supply chains transport temperature-sensitive medical supplies at temperatures between two and eight degrees Celsius. This includes vaccines, which must be stored properly from the time they are manufactured until they are administered. Any exposure to inappropriate conditions, such as higher temperatures, could reduce or even destroy the vaccine’s potency. Some vaccines are more sensitive than others. Normally researchers have to devote extensive time to testing vaccine stability in order to understand the environmental conditions under which the vaccine can be securely transported or stored. They use the data generated to improve stability and make doses easier to distribute. The current COVID-19 vaccines are being developed at such unprecedented speeds that researchers are not able to fully focused on safety and efficacy in order to get them approved as quickly as possible. The lack of stability data has led some producers, out of caution, to require extreme temperatures along the supply chain (as low as -80 °C). Now we have the vaccine that was seen as the answer to the covid-19 crisis. What do we do with the vaccine? The vaccine still has not reached the end-user. Vaccination is still on hold even in areas where the vaccine has reached its final destination. Now the question is who can become vaccinated and can administrate the vaccine. Many countries do not distribute the vaccine to primary physicians as they are afraid that the vaccine may not reach those who it was intended for. Instead rely on government organizations including the military to vaccinate people. To believe that low paid government officials are less likely to be corrupted appears to be naïve or maybe it is just another step in the big plan that that the control stays with those in power. One has to be clear that this varies from country to country but after all this is a worldwide epidemic. And often vaccines may not be allowed to be distributed due to orders by the local officials as the cold chain may have been interrupted during the shipment. But where do these less than perfect shipments end up, what happens to factory seconds normally. There are other countries with different standards. So, it is less a logistics problem than a power problem those with power will receive their vaccine and power may not only mean money but being vocal and groups which are of political interest for what ever reason. Dreaming that a vaccine will be distributed equally according to need is naïve A vaccine like any resources in short supply has its own rules of supply and demand and we will see how all this is playing out at the end of December 2020 we are just at the beginning of the vaccination process which may turn out to be even the bigger disaster than the covid-19 virus itself. Vaccines are not the magic bullet for the virus worldwide.

Covid-19 and Data Centers

Research

Full-text available

Dec 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

The virus that spread from Wuhan China a year ago late in December 2019 has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. We are now dealing with a second wave which has hit the northern hemisphere hard. As a result countries like Germany are locking down from December 16 till January 10, 2021. This means more homeschooling and homeoffice and with it an increased demand for online solutions and internet services. In order to store and process all this data a facility is required that is called a data center. There are four main categories of data centers, which include enterprise data centers which are built, owned, and operated by companies and are optimized for their end users. Managed services data centers which provide the services for a fee to other companies. Colocation data centers which use a single facility location to house datacenters for multiple tenants. Then there are the now so popular cloud data centers which may provide internet hosting an entire region. Data Centers came a long way from the huge computer rooms of the 1940 ENIAC type computers. The Telecommunications Industry Association's Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Data Centers specifies the minimum requirements for telecommunications infrastructure of data centers helps to standardize the industry worldwide. Data Centers are where the tire hits the road literally and a virtual world still requires a physical infrastructure. This is also where it is most vulnerable and safety and security becomes crucial. The actual central processing units are located in the machine room with raised floors that were developed 1956 by Ericsson and implemented by IBM in order to have easy access to wring and improve the circulation of cold air through perforated cooling floor tiles. This provides an advantage over overhead cable trays and suspended ceilings used in smaller server rooms with antistatic tiles and other static control measures. Airflow design is especially critical in larger rooms where we distinguish between the cool and hot side of the server and try to prevent the air from mixing. Often cold aisles are located in the rear while the front sides of the computer cabinets may be vented through chimneys. The technical standards include various levels from one which is a server room, to level four which includes all mission critical computer systems with redundant subsystems and the ability to continuously operate for an indefinite period of time during natural and manmade disasters of various kinds that may cause power outages, floods and fires. Electric power is another key issue for DCs and amount to about ten percent of total cost of ownership (TCO). Globally data centers used roughly 416 TWh in 2016, in the USA DC consumption was 90 billion kWh. An uninterrupted power supply needs to be guaranteed through battery banks and backup power generators. Energy is not only used to power the computers but also to cool them. Water cooled DC near lakes and rivers are becoming more popular where possible. There are also dark data centers or lights out data centers without human operators entirely remote controlled which allows the center to be housed in less expensive unpopulated remote locations, these locations have been proofed virus resistant even during covid-19 times. This even allows data centers to be located under arctic conditions. Data Centers are expanding worldwide Zoom is to setup a R&D center in Singapore. CITIC is investing 300 million US$ in China Data Center, Keppel Capital debuts second data center fund KDCII with 500 million US$ first closing and a target of 1 Billion. Big Data is certainly a winner in the covid-19 crisis while the demand for office space will continue to decline with increased homeofficing data centers see an unprecedented level of investor demand.

Covid-19 and Vaccination

Research

Full-text available

Dec 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

What started a year ago in December 2019 as a deadly virus in Wuhan China has been declared a worldwide pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. This has been a long a year and another paper will summarize what happened this year along of millions of other papers on the same topic – covid19 and its collateral damage. The crisis took on a dimension by itself and escalated from a health crisis to an economic crisis. We waited a long time for covid-19 testing and now it has been quiet around tests even so test are still hard to get and the false positive and negative results are not much discussed in public. The media rather focuses on so called covid-19 death as this is much more sensational. Even so the cause of death are the underlying health conditions. IN most cases the symptoms of covid-19 are mild and there are even people who test positive with no symptoms at all. But the focus of this paper is more on the vaccination which is seen as the big savior of mankind. But there are very few details on how the virus and the shear number of doses are supposed to be distributed around the world. Currently the Russian sputnik vaccine is the only one which is currently distributed among the Russian population. The testing process of the sputnik has been questioned by western medical experts. There are about 250 other covid-19 vaccines under development worldwide. In Germany the government stores the covid-19 vaccine in a top secrete cold storage facility out of fears that the vaccine will be stolen with. In the German parliament there are now discussions how to determine who gets the vaccine and how it will be administered. It is feared that distribution through general physicians will be unsecure and can be interfered with. There is also concern about corruption which may be even more severe in countries other than Germany. So those believed that a vaccine will be the cure are naïve and it will take years until the price of the vaccine will be the actual material costs and will be readily available such as the flu vaccine. The vaccine supply chain from manufacturer to injection in the patient needs to be absolutely closed and the proper security and safe handling is critical. The vaccines which are now being developed have been fast tracked and it is therefore important to store them at even colder temperature some as low as – 80 degrees Celsius, as we don’t know exactly how stable they are some are under best conditions even only 90% effective which can go down to about 70% of its potency and below if the conditions are less favorable. The big there parcel shippers DHL, FedEx and UPS are the logistics companies which can provide the appropriate end to end supply chain solutions at a price, which is high considering that a small aircraft container with vaccine values over one million dollars. DHL assumes 10 billion doses are to be distributed over two years starting by the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021 and DHL estimates that they need for 15 million deliveries in cooling boxes, 200,000 movements by pallet shippers and 15,000 flights across the various supply chains as started in the DHL whitepaper delivering pandemic resilience. Downstream is the challenge for the supply chain in emerging market where the infrastructure still needs to be improved to meet the stringent temperature requirements through means of warehousing and modes of transportation. Packaging of the vaccine is another issue that needs to be addressed in term of tamper proof, temperature and traceability RFID needs to be incorporated as well. So vaccine is not the solution just another hurtle in the covid-19 crisis to be managed. Vaccine is a problem and as any resource is limited and to get it to the right people in the right time is not only a logistics problem but a financial problem.

Covid-19 and Electric Cars

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

Covid-19 and Electric Cars

Research

Full-text available

Nov 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

The covid-19 virus changed our lives forever and caused many to rethink the meaning of life and how they live it. Maybe this also had an influence on the type of car they drive. The lockdown made us miss the weekend excursions and even the commute to the office. Social distancing also changed the commute with public transportation and while many decided to switch to bicycles they also considered electric cars as replacement for their combustion engine. Overall car sales declined in 2020, showing a 28% decrease during the first half of the year while electric vehicles declined only 14%. In the European market electric vehicle sales even increased 57% during the same time frame despite a one to two month industry halt. Sales will further grow with the covid-19 recovery incentives offered by six European countries including Germany. In France EV sales increased 9.1% while Germany was 7.6%. Worldwide the expectation for plug in cars is 2.9 million for 2020 despite the crisis according to EV-volumes.com. The big winner in the electric vehicle market is Tesla with its 142,000 Model 3 followed by Renault Zoe, 38,000 and Nissan Leave with 24,000 vehicles delivered through June 2020. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery can be recharged by plugging it into an external electrical power source, as well as by its own engine and generator. PHEVs have internal combustion engines and electric motor along with large batteries. They can use conventional fuel (gasoline, diesel) or alternative power sources like LPG and NG. PHEVs usually have a range of 30 to 80 km all electric they are truly hybrids. Solar powered cars are still a novelty and mostly experimental cars often created in a university setting by engineer students for competitions. The big challenge for EV are still the batteries which provided the breakthrough of electric vehicles in the first place. The overall prospects for electric vehicles are great including EV leasing and rentals. The electrical vehicles require a different manufacturing process changing the assembly lines reducing the number of parts. Electric vehicle manufacturing is more like assembling electrical appliances reducing the number of steps and employees. This move combined with covid-19 is changing the automotive industry worldwide. Nisan has spent 305 Million US $ to convert a factory in Japan to allow combustion, hybrid and electric power train installation. While oil prices drastically dropped in the corona crisis the incentive for electric cars decreased. It is also expected that the increased use of EV will create a strain of the power grids, when drivers plug in their vehicles in the evening after work. On the other hand social distancing requirements in public transportation drives many people to the privacy of the private car. These are at the same time the type of customers who care for the environment and would choose an electric car over combustion engines despite of the higher costs. The big handicap currently is the the lack of charging stations as they are still hard to find. Luxury upscale shopping centers provide BMW and Mercedes Benz charging stations for their high end shoppers who like to drive high-end hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) cars as status symbol especially in countries like Thailand. Thailand carmakers also ramp up electric vehicle production capacity along with lithium-ion battery plants. The demand of electrical vehicles will increase in the New Normal, so one could say EV are some of the winners of the covid-19 crisis.

Covid-19 The Big Losers

Research

Full-text available

Nov 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

The covid-19 pandemic has impacted all our lives and we all are losers in one way or the other. But there are industries that were harder hit than others. The collateral damage created by the health crisis was far greater and did hit harder and killed more people than the 1 million covid-19 deaths. With the lockdowns public life changed. Students had to stay at home and do homeschooling. Many argue that the education system was one of the big losers with on-line learning that challenged, students, parents and teachers. From elementary education to university levels local and international institutions affected. With borders closed international travel and in particular airlines came to a hold until the governments bailed them out to preserve jobs for overpaid flight attendants and pilots rather than to let them compete with budget airlines. The decrease in demand for flights also affected the aircraft manufactures like Airbus and Boing with demand for wide body aircrafts disappearing. The tourism industry died and in some countries up to one third of tourism industry related businesses disappeared for ever like in Thailand were even hotels like Novotel closed their doors forever and the Peninsula changed owners. But also Las Vegas was hard hit with its 150,000 hotel rooms and casinos, which turned the lights off at the strip. Accor group even refused to pay rent for two month on its closed hotel properties in Germany. Also local restaurants suffered with the lockdown and required social distancing requirements when they opened again. Even breweries stood still with lack in demand from restaurants and entertainment venues. The convention and exhibit industry was hard hit with conferences cancelled worldwide, many switched to making Plexiglas face shields for retail outlets which did not earn them much money. The arts were the other big looser with performing arts prohibited, theaters, cinemas and concert halls closed. Drive-in movie theaters go reinvented. While the movie industry also came to a halt the release of the new James Bond movie got delayed and new TV and film production halted. Not to mention professional sports like soccer and even the Olympic Games in Japan which got cancelled along with the Oktober Fest in Munich. Small retail stores were hard hit especially bookstores while supermarkets were allowed to sell anything these specialty stores were forced to remain closed. The same held true for hairdressers who later were allowed to open with mandatory shampooing and social distance requirements. Even large container ships were losers as size mattered during the crisis and small is beautiful. Global business and international supply chains were losers too. Farmers also lost as migrant workers could not enter countries like Germany and help with planting and harvesting. Overall the big looser was the economy why we tried to save lives more people lost their life and livelihood through the collateral damage caused by the covid-19 crisis with no vaccine in sight not to mention the cost of vaccinating the entire world population. We have to learn how to live with the covid-19, 20, 21 virus in the New Normal.

Covid-19 The Big Winners

Research

Full-text available

Oct 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the virus that started in Wuhan China as a world-wide pandemic. Our lives changed since then with lockdowns and social distancing which in return caused collateral damage to the economy with tourism and cultural venues being the hardest hit. But there are also winners in the covid-19 crisis. With homeschooling online learning got a boost and online programs became more acceptable than ever. US universities are still slow to open and international students may study in their home countries while being enrolled in colleges overseas. Learning management systems (LMS) like Moodle, Blackboard, Schoology and Google Classroom received a big boost. Along with it also videoconferencing used for homeschooling as well as home office. The big players are Microsoft Team, Skype and Zoom. Zoom’s revenue by midyear was over $663 million with a net profit of $186 million from $5.5 million a year earlier while the stock price increased already sevenfold. IT sales overall received a big boost during the homeoffice time, as well as digitalization and telecom providers worldwide. The same holds true for on-line shopping and online gaming. The big-box retailer like Target and Walmart which saw a 97% increase in e-commerce sale. Amazon made over $90 billion in revenue from April to June 2020 alone its stock went up 69 percent and made Jeff Bezos the first $200 billion man but also employees profited with 175,000 new hires during the crisis. Home deliveries increased drastically even people who never imagined to have their groceries or meals delivered did so during the crisis. But also chemicals like disinfectants drastically increased in sales along with single use gloves and an increased short term demand for toilet paper and plastic gloves not to mention facemasks as the new fashion icon of the covid crisis. Healthcare overall also received a boost while hospitals officially complain about losses due to postponing scheduled surgeries due to reserving beds for covid-19 patients which ever came. Camping was also a big winner, holiday at home became the in thing while hotels and borders were closed. The sale of swimming pools for the backyard saw also a big increase during the summer months. Along with other fitness equipment for the home while the health clubs were closed. The new focus was at home which also lead to increase in home improvement sales as well as gardening products and plant material. Amazing soil was a hot product during the covid-19 crisis. People were obsessed with growing things at home in the backyard or on their balcony, to surround themselves with nature and or to become self-sufficient. Along the same theme were increased demands for bicycles as substitute for public transportation and form of recreation. But also firearms and ammunition sales increased during the crisis especially in the USA. People prepared for the worst and saw no end in sight as tests were slowly developed but are still not widely available. The same holds true for immunization which is still being developed, with the Russians being on the forefront with Sputnik and the US hope to have a vaccine before the presidential election. But we have to understand that vaccination of the entire world population would be a tremendous logistics and financial effort. So we have to understand that herd immunity may be our best bet and we have to learn to live with the covid-19, 20, 21 virus in the New Normal.

Covid19 New Normal Economy

Research

Full-text available

Sep 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

What started in Wuhan China in December 2019 became known as the coid-19 virus and was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as world-wide pandemic by March 2020. This global health emergency triggered a disastrous political and socio-economic crisis around the world. As borders were closed to prevent the virus to come in we also interrupted international supply chains and free global trade. Even Europe closed its borders within hours so much for the European Union (EU). Nationalism focused on the domestic economy partially as a reaction to restrictions but it may also become the New Normal Economy. Too much dependencies on international suppliers which prohibited domestic production. The market economy adjusted quickly and there were only shortages for items such as toilet paper as a result of consumers’ hording. Open and circular economy of the future may have been postponed in a situation of urgent demand and a matter of personal survival. Also environmental economy took on a new meaning, while many thought that the shutdown and less domestic and international travel had a positive impact on the environment, forgetting that cruise ships stranded in the harbors caused more emissions. But also shut-down factories and non-emitting smoke stacks may be a sight favored by the green economy but the people forced to stay at home do to homeschooling and home office consumed more electricity and heating fuel while paying for them out of their own pockets. Ocean traffic with less container ships and supertankers also impacted the blue economy or marine economy. Oil prices even went to a negative price for a short time as the storage costs got too high due to reduced consumption. The rural economy in Germany experienced a set-back as seasonal migrant workers could not enter the country. Even agricultural economies of India saw an increase in prices of vitals such as onions. The switch from a rural to an urban economy was slowed down, and some people wanted to become self-sufficient and started to farm their balconies and backyards. Crypto economics saw an interesting rollercoaster ride. The wire card scandal with 2 billion Euro lost by or in global imaginaries. But overall the digital economy got a boost from the covid-19 crisis were on-line sales skyrocketed and e-commerce was first discovered by many as the only option as the brick and mortar stores were closed. Home delivery was also a winner why restaurants and entertainment venues were the big losers along with the movie industry. We also saw a divide in the economy between south and north even in Europe. Emerging markets may have been harder hit by the crisis than established country with a social market system that catches the poor like Germany, but the middle class has to pay a high price in form of taxes and special assessment. The crisis may also have an impact on the presidential elections in the USA, while the economy has been hard hit by the crisis. The problem is Americans have no savings and like other countries live hand to mouth. In time we may have a vaccine for the covid-19 virus but are still looking for a vaccine for the world economy. The New Normal Economy will have a more domestic national focus with less globalization except for multinationals. A great time for entrepreneurs who dare to risk it all on new ventures and forms of business including new forms of employment.

Toilet Paper there Hottest Item during Covid19

Research

Full-text available

Sep 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

The hottest item during the corona crisis was toilet paper. People went crazy about hording toilet paper in Europe and the USA. Why is toilet paper so critical for the survival of Europeans? It is difficult to understand for other countries especially in Asia and the Middle East where it is standard practice to use water instead of toilet paper to clean up after using the toilet. But Europeans also named "sticky asses" by some countries cannot get used to using water. The majority and that means 99.99% of the toilets do not have a water hose next to the toilet as it is the case in Asia and no floor drain for water. The other option is to use the toilet and afterwards the adjacent shower or bathtub to clean up, but most people appear to be incapable of making this switch in habits. Therefore they insist that they need toilet paper to survive during the crisis. Older generations that grew up during the war used to use old newspapers instead of toilet papers. A newspaper was neatly folded in half and then in a quarter and then in a sixteenth and a small standard size sheet was the result of cutting the paper with a knife this was standard practice in Germany before and during WWII and into the late 1960s. There was a wooden box in every toilet for these standard size newspaper cuttings. Yes the newspaper ink left marks on the bottom. In spite of more or less limited exposure, the anogenital region can be affected by a number of irritants, which may lead to contact dermatitis. Perianal areas dermatitis is also a toilet paper related issue. Toilet paper has allergens such as dyes or primary irritants which act as causative agents. Individual's allergic responsiveness varies, one could generalize that people who are allergic may also easier show covid-19 related symptoms. The presenting complaints of these patients were the acute onset of mild to severe pruritus. The periurethral areas of both females and males were involved. Local signs of inflammation were often noted by the patients themselves with occasional evidences of excoriation. Moist toilet tissue was extremely popular for babies and sensitive people. Kimberly-Clark caters to the growing market for nonwovens in the personal care flushable wipes category. The company already introduced a moist toilet tissue decades ago. Cottonelle Rollwipes, was the first major commercial launch of a 'dispersible' flushable wipe. KC has also developed and commercialized a 'new, improved' version of its dispersible 'triggerable' binder. This product has lower salt levels in the lotion, reducing corrosion and irritation in the users. The product, also has a higher wet strength and is less sensitive to water quality variability and has a moderate pH. These types of products offer potential for a true solution to the 'flushability' conundrum while meeting the needs of consumers. Kimberly-Clark is continuously investing ways to optimize its system, with Celanese Emulsions having a comparable binder system and the use of Tencel® (lyocel) with wood pulp offering higher strength from a biodegradable

Parcel Delivery Services boom during Covid-19

Research

Full-text available

Aug 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

While the COVID-19 virus caused lockdowns worldwide, people stayed home unable o go shopping. But on-line sales increased as well during the pandemic and with it the delivery of parcels. Certainly, some have been shipped by mail, but that was the rare exception. And in Germany DHL and the German Postal Service is the same corporation. DHL, FedEx, and UPS are the major players in the parcel delivery service business worldwide. Smaller players are usually independent companies who act as subcontractors for the big three. Parcel delivery companies operate their own fleets of cargo airplanes this way DHL, FedEx, and UPS are independent of delivery via passenger airplanes. As passenger flights were canceled due to closed borders and corona lockdowns other air cargo got delayed or canceled. Parcel carriers volume also got increased due to those shifted cargo volumes. The Thai postal service would not accept EMS shipments quoting that the flights are canceled. EMS is part of the Universal Postal Union claimed to be the fastest cross-border postal service with 185 members, they are proud not to have surcharges but they suspended services in certain regions of the world. One has to say that the big three parcel carriers were mission-critical during corona times and dependable due to their in-house distribution system with warehousing, customs clearing, and transport via trucks, boats, motorcycles, and bicycles. FedEx lived up to its slogan The World on Time. FedEx in 2017 was the world’s largest airline in terms of freight tons flown. TNT Express is an international courier delivery service company and a subsidiary of FedEx with headquarters in the Netherlands where it was previously owned by the postal service, like DHL by the German postal service. But TNT was founded by Ken Thomas 1946 in Australia. DPDgroup is an international parcel delivery service based in France for sorter compatible parcels less than 30 kg with a volume of circa 5.3 million parcels worldwide per day. Hermes Logistik Gruppe (HLG) has an alliance with DPD focusing on-road service. Toll Group is an Australian logistics provider and a subsidiary of Japan Post Holdings, Global Express is its parcel arm. GLS General Logistics Systems is owned by the British Royal Mail but headquartered in Amsterdam, with Parcelforce Worldwide as the parent organization. According to consignor.com 13% increase in the number of parcels shipped overall, the rise of B2C e-commerce shipments of 17%, 9% increase of parcels shipped in Germany, 2% decrease in parcels shipped across borders and retail parcel volume down 8% compared to expected volume as of the end of April 2020. Many parcel couriers see Christmas level parcel volume during COVID-19. While other industries lay off people or work part-time due to corona, this industry faces a staffing shortage, showing that many people rather collect welfare than work hard in sorting facilities. Even the U.S. postal service planned peak surcharges for domestic parcels. The Canadian post also processed record parcel volumes through facilities that were never designed to conforming to COVID-related restrictions. Unfortunately, growth in parcel volume and revenue often were not enough to cover increased costs. February and March were slow months but now volume increases 40% to 50%in particular in the product category nutraceuticals, health and beauty, pharmaceuticals, apparel, and home office supplies. E-commerce sales overall grew 49% year to date and electronic sales 58% while online grocery sales are going up 110% according to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index. The new normal for parcel sales will certainly be substantially higher as corona earned the confidence of many new customers in on-line sales.

Procurement and Supply Chain Management Skills After Corona -The New Normal

Research

Full-text available

Aug 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

The Covid-19 epidemic affected supply chains worldwide and the logistics industry experienced major interruptions and changes. The lockdowns had dramatic impact on the logistic aspects of various industries. Why items like face masks, protective gear and disinfection material were in high demand, other items like fashion and home furnishings barely moved. Modes of transportation had to be shifted, passenger flights were no longer available and cargo aircrafts heeded to be hired. There also existed an overcapacity in the container business and large vessels sailed at less than optimal capacity. Procurement had to deal more with cancelled orders than with new orders. Alternative procurement sources had to be discovered when borders were closed and suppliers out of reach. Just-In-Time (JIT) did not work anymore and those with stock in warehouses handled the crisis better. Payments had to be renegotiated and delivery horizons. While procurement professionals are usually high on financial and accounting skills the soft skills were critical in renegotiation the terms for the time during the crisis and the new normal. Also the technical knowledge of the supply chain and its partners were critical. Business as usual no longer existed and new partners and venues had to be found. Procurement professionals who waited for their boss to take charge ended up costing the organization. Take charge is important in an crisis, and to be able to fly by the seats of their pants. There will be a shift to shorter and alternative supply chains. Those who reacted to the opportunity at hand won. Crisis mode operations require creativity and flexibility also in terms of procurement and sourcing while having strong ethics.

Global Supply-Chain Management New Normal After Corona (AC)

Research

Full-text available

Jul 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

Supply chains got drastically changed with the corona crisis. Initially there was the fear of interruption of supply chains and stock-outs in stores. The items in highest demand in Europe were toilet paper and noodles. In response to the lockdowns people purchased larger quantities as normal which caused an unforeseen change in supply chain management. If consumers would have purchased as normal nothing would have happened as the supply chains would have still functions. The hording of consumers caused a change in demand. This coupled with interruptions in the transportation modes by closing of borders and rerouting. On the other side there was an oversupply of party related items like BBQ supplies and meat products such as grillers and baby pigs. Meat often was sold at retail stores like Liedl with up to 50% discounts. Also the demand from restaurants dropped with their closure even impacting breweries. The automotive industry had severe consequences for their global suppliers the same as the fashion industry. Passenger flights being cancelled there was less cargo volume available for perishable goods like flowers from Africa for markets in Europe. But also with events like weddings and conferences there was less demand for those products as well. The cargo volume has decreased which also impacted ocean transport and large containerships sailed half full if at all during the crisis. Many of the new cargo vessel orders are on hold as well as aircrafts from Airbus and Boeing, the time of large aircrafts like the A380 may be over and the aircraft with its double decks is not very efficient for cargo transports. Truckers became the heroes of the crisis; they were able to transport anything, anywhere any time under huge personal sacrifices. Supply chains also rediscovered the benefits of warehousing, and the Just-in-Time (JIT) model got questions. Think global and act local may become the new theme for the supply chains which will get more of a local focus. Local production may be more expensive but more sustainable especially in Europe where consumers are more willing to pay a price for saving the world from themselves. Sustainability may become even more of a buzz word after corona. Small is beautiful another slogan for supply chains. What the new normal will look like very much depends on how fast the economy will recover. Currently a second wave is more likely than a fast recovery.

Warehousing after Corona The New Normal in Warehousing

Research

Full-text available

Jul 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

Before COVID-19 globalization and just-in-time (JIT) dominated the supply chains of the world. But with the corona crisis and the lockdowns and closed borders, we experienced interrupted supply chains. International sources in Asia appeared worlds away and domestic production became a real alternative. But there was also overproduction as in the case of the meatpacking industry when factories were closed. The flower markets of Holland and Africa were heavily hit, as in the corona crisis the flower shops were closed and air cargo capacities on passenger flights reduced and eliminated. Warehousing took on its old buffer function but capacities were at their limits and products like flowers and vegetables ended up as biogas or worse filled up landfills. The automobile industry worldwide slowed down and shut down, Mercedes Benz, VW, and General Motors assembly lines had less demand on their suppliers who normally deliver JIT. All these parts had to be inventoried. The fashion industry had an entire spring collection which the stores did not want to delivery of. Most people don't understand that fashion is a perishable good, same as flowers. Nobody wants last year's spring collection. Companies like C&A, Gap, H&M sold them at a 50-70% discount, for those items already delivered to the USA and Europe. Other clothing items never made it out of Asia and are being sold there in weekend markets like Jatu-Juck (JJ) in Bangkok at kg prices, just to empty the warehouses for the new collection. In Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh new warehouse projects are literally popping up using concrete tilt-up construction and metal buildings. More challenging is the cold-storage supply chain, with Reefer Containers (refrigerated containers) on top of trucks, railroads, and container ships. To maintain quality the cold-supply chain must stay uninterrupted otherwise the food will be spoiled and unfit for human consumption. To ease this supply chain supermarkets like Aldi, Norma and Lidl discount for instance meat that will expire in a few days up to 50% and donate the rest to the food banks. As the demand after the lockdown did not increase drastically despite a 3% lower value-added tax in Germany for instance, department store chains like Kaufhof Galleria reduced their number of stores and with its storage capacity. Online businesses like Amazon expanded their warehouses and became the universal warehouses for better off in the world. While poor people in Asia and Africa don't have access through local brick and mortar stores everything is available for a price on-line. With it also comes the logistics provider, which during corona focused more on small parcel quantities than container loads, and with it, DHL, FedEx, and UPS took on logistics functions with a greater role in warehousing from medicine, electronics to food. Home delivery saw an increase during corona as stores were closed or people were afraid to go out

International Business the New Normal After Corona (AC)

Research

Full-text available

Jul 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

What started as the Chinese Wuhan virus at the beginning of 2020 was soon declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a global pandemic. In most countries, this resulted in lockdowns with all businesses closed with the exceptions of gas stations, grocery stores, and supermarkets. Home office and homeschooling restructured family life. Others working in industries were home office was not an alternative were forced to work part-time take vacations or simply faced unemployment. The industries that were hit the hardest were tourism, hospitality, and culture and fashion related. The collateral damages of the COVID-19 crisis were worse than the crisis itself. Global supply chains were interrupted, stock markets crashed and the global economy set back. The European community EU did not prove itself in the crisis and nationalism took over after the borders closed. Homeschooling and home office placed a heavy burden on internet connections and mobile networks. Even countries like Germany received a boost in digitalization. Online businesses like Amazon turned out to be the winners of the corona crisis along with garden centers and home improvement stores which were among the first to open again. The poor countries were hit harder than the rich ones with high unemployment and without a social safety net. After the lockdown was loosened with 1.50-meter safety distance, face and nose masks shopping did not take off. The reasons were that shopping experience was not the same with the mask and financial uncertainty damped the spending behavior. In Germany, the value-added tax was reduced from 19% to 16% which till the end of the year not enough to boost the sales of automobiles and other big-ticket items like furniture. These industries with their global suppliers will be affected for a long time to come at least three years. But also tourism recovers slowly in Thailand one-third of all tourism-related businesses are gone forever. Airlines like Lufthansa and Thai Airways facing bankruptcy and aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus face canceled orders the same as ship wharves which have cruise ships and supertankers in their docks which the owners don't need due to decreased demand. The tensions between the USA and China increase and the political situation worldwide is shaky. Global warming received a small dent during corona but cruise ships idling in the port still have emissions, and home office and homeschooling consume more inefficient energy. Oil prices dropped with the consumption and bicycle became a transportation alternative. The New Normal may bring opportunities for new inventions and entrepreneurs, and localization over increasing globalization. The automobile industry needs to restructure and electro vehicles have fewer components and require different assembly plants. Brick and mortar stores may add or switch to on-line. Home office is here to stay and the

Logistics Industry after Corona The New Normal in Global Supply Chain Management

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2020

Hermann Gruenwald

Globalization and e-commerce lead to the logistics industry boom before covid-19, but what will happen to this industry after Corona when the New Normal sets in after the lockdown. During the lock-down the on-line business model boomed. While local businesses except grocery stores and supermarkets were shut down, Amazon served the needs of the population in lock down especially in Europe. With e-commerce logistics companies like UPS, FedEx, and DHL delivered with their own fleet of trucks and airplanes. Other logistics providers and freight forwarders faced big problems, in airfreight as passenger volume for some locations went to zero and with it the possibility to ship cargo on those planes. A380 became an oversized obsolete aircraft, its second floor could not be used for cargo as it was not designed for it. With the airline industry Airbus and Boeing became the victims. Fuel efficient aircrafts were not need in times where crude oil was being sold at a negative price just to get rid of the production. With the lock down demands for consumer goods decreased as people were not in the mood of spending money and the stores were closed as well. The only products in demand were toilet paper, face masks, and computers. Computers as more people switched to home office and home schooling. In these times of transport problems many companies reconsidered the global supply chain and decided to switch to local suppliers. Just-in-time took on a new meaning. Suppliers in Asia were hurt by lock downs of boutiques and large department stores like C&A and Kaufhof Galleria, which even went out of business during the lockdown. Automobile manufacturers like VW, BMW and Daimler closed their factories in Europe and suppliers got stuck with parts. With no demand for goods there was also no demand for logistics, containerships were less than full at the same time the largest containership of history left the wharf a capacity of 24,000TEU. The question is how long it will take to fill these large containerships and supertankers, until demand increase. When will passenger air traffic volume increase, until then we have to rely on cargo airplanes. Trucks in Europe were celebrated as heroes as they were the ones who kept the supermarkets full, there was never a real shortage, except for toilet paper, noodles and cooking oil those consumers horded. The digital economy received a boost despite bankruptcy of Wirecard. The collateral damage of the crisis also caused large unemployment worldwide with which global demand decreases and with it the demand for logistics services and jobs in the logistics industry it may take two to three years until we reach the old industry high, until then logistics costs will increase while fuel costs may remain low as well as labor costs.

Kdei Karuna Organization, Phnom Penh/Cambodia, co-funded by German International Cooperation agency, GIZ and Open Society Foundation (OSF) At: Bangkok Hermann Gruenwald

Jun 2015

Hermann Gruenwald

Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Thai-Cambodian Logistics Ventures. June 2015. Conference: 3rd Academic Conference on Thai-Cambodian Relations, Kdei Karuna Organization, Phnom Penh/Cambodia, co-funded by German International Cooperation agency, GIZ and Open Society Foundation (OSF) At: Bangkok Hermann Gruenwald (2015). Women's Negotiation Power in the Logistics Industry -A Study of Thai Generation Y. December 2015. Conference: 27th International Conference on Advances in Business Management and Information Technology (ICABMIT) At: Bangkok

Enhancement of the Transborder Trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (MSR) through Port Infrastructure

Sep 2014

Hermann Gruenwald

Hermann Gruenwald (2014). Enhancement of the Transborder Trade in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (MSR) through Port Infrastructure. September 2014. Conference: 3rd Mekong Sub Region International Conference (MSSRC) "Mekong Region and ASEAN in Transition: People and Transborder Issues" Mekong Sub-region Social Research Center (MSSRC) At: Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

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