As temperatures warm up B.C.害羞草研究所檚 Interior, the spring runoff may cause supply chain problems.

Last week害羞草研究所檚 atmospheric river triggered memories of November 2021, when flooding wiped out parts of the Coquihalla Highway, wreaking havoc on the supply chain and delaying the shipment of goods.

The supply chain must fundamentally change to accommodate an extreme climate, said Babak Tosarkani, an assistant professor in manufacturing at the University of B.C.害羞草研究所檚 Okanagan campus.

害羞草研究所淧rofitability was the main objective when setting up supply chains,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淏ut from now on we need to develop a resilient supply chain, even if it isn害羞草研究所檛 as efficient.害羞草研究所�

These changes take time, said Tosarkani, and in the short term, if natural disasters continue to damage critical infrastructures like roads and railways, rising costs will be apparent throughout the supply chain.

害羞草研究所淭hese costs will be distributed between all the players in the supply chain, and one of the players can be the consumer,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淪ince we don害羞草研究所檛 have any short-term solutions to climate change, the best thing we can do is to make our supply chain more resilient by distributing inventory in multiple locations, estimating the market demand, using intermodal transportation and partnering with multiple suppliers.害羞草研究所�

This may require looking abroad to international sellers to cushion the impact of extreme weather.

害羞草研究所淚f you rely only on your regional supply chains, you cannot have an efficient economy, that害羞草研究所檚 why we rely on products from international suppliers as well,害羞草研究所� said Tosarkani.

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Expanding the network to rely on different forms of transport will also help.

害羞草研究所淚nstead of relying on one mode of transportation, if we use other modes of transportation like transporting by train or by truck we can rely on more suppliers,害羞草研究所� he said.

The has already issued several warnings, and the province is investing heavily in flood and .

害羞草研究所淔ollowing the extraordinary work that was done to reconnect these highways in December, we害羞草研究所檙e building back permanent infrastructure that will be equipped to better withstand the impacts of climate change and future extreme weather events,害羞草研究所� said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Despite the changes, there will be challenges ahead.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a cultural issue that I think people are gradually getting used to,害羞草研究所� Tosarkani said. 害羞草研究所淚nstead of just focusing on saving costs and the profitability of the supply chain, we will focus on its resiliency.害羞草研究所�

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