A tech columnist and alumni talk about the global supply chain crisis on the Emory President’s Podcast

In the year In the fall of 2019, Christopher Mims was standing in a port in Vietnam when a friend asked him if “this epidemic in China” would affect him. He was at the docks watching ships deliver containers the size of skyscrapers filled with cell phone parts. Mims in 2011. In 2021, he was researching his book, “Getting There Today: From Factory to Front Door — Why Everything Has Changed How and What We Buy.”

As a technology writer, Mims began researching how robots could replace humans in the manufacturing industry. Little did he know that he was about to see the global supply chain collapse before his eyes. In the latest episode of a big question, Emory President Gregory L. Fenves interviewed Mims about globalization and how it is affecting people’s everyday purchasing decisions. Listen to the full interview.

Fenves starts with the big question, “Over the past two years, any time there’s been a delay or a shortage, the global supply chain has been blamed… Can you explain what’s going on?”

Mims answers in part: “So if you’re talking about something as complex as a cell phone, at least 300 parts, the cumulative supply chain involved in a cell phone could be 100,000 miles or more.” There are many single points of failure because those industries are concentrated. If you want something really simple like capacitors, you go to a capacitor village or town or city in China. And, if capacitor city is shut down by an epidemic, well, every electronics manufacturer in the world that needs capacitors will have to go into stock.

Mims wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal Key words, he covers everything from electric cars to the metaverse. The Emory College graduate studied neuroscience and behavioral biology before pursuing a career in journalism. For more than a decade, he has been observing how technology has changed people’s daily lives. It also focuses on the labor market around the development of technology – from Silicon Valley to Asian states, computers are produced.

For Mims, globalization is not a lofty concept. “The sphere is more interconnected than ever,” he explained to Fenves on a big question. We have each other’s back more than ever. And you can no longer unravel that web.

Here is an excerpt of their speech:

FenfsGlobal supply chains through globalization, ease of trade, trade policies, financial flows, technology flows, and intellectual property. But I understand, a lot of that is starting to change… So, how do you see the relationship between the technology questions and the supply chain questions with the broader globalization trend?

MimsThere is this concept of re-settlement where you bring manufacturing back to your country’s borders. People call it “alley shoring”. You think of these two huge, geopolitically connected blocs where Russia trades primarily with China and some other countries. And the US and the EU and others worry, “Well, if there’s a war in the South China Sea or something, how do we make sure we always have a supply of microchips? So, maybe we should give Intel a bunch. Money to bring microchip production back to the US.”

Listen to the full conversation with Mims.

On each big question, Fenves sat down with Emory authors, innovators, researchers, alumni and others to share their experiences and areas of expertise. The first two classes are presented by an epidemiologist and a social media maven Laurel Bristow and author Tyree JonesEmory’s Charles Howard Kanders Professor of English and Creative Writing. All three parts are now available.