Waiting for delivery

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Over the last 2 years most of us have experienced longer waiting time than ever for orders to arrive. Product shortages often deprived many of us our first-choice brands, forcing us to look for a substitute option. To better understand this situation, we need to think back to the beginning of the pandemic, which highlighted the weaknesses of the supply chain and led to its disruption.

When lockdown restrictions hit stores, businesses and offices in early 2020, plenty of factories reduced their manufacturing output and capacity via forced redundancies. Transport companies followed a similar pattern, as they assumed limited demand for services. China, the world's leading exporter of goods, focused on manufacturing of protective accessories, mainly face masks, delivering more than half of the global demand. On the other hand, contrary to initial pandemic-era expectations, order volume of IT products (laptops), electronics goods and furniture increased considerably and the industry did not manage to keep pace with this roaring demand. The world’s factories faced workforce shortages and a lack of raw materials and key components, including famous auto chips. As for maritime transport, which is estimated to account for around 80% of global trade, shipping delays caused congestion in major ports across the world. All this triggered the ongoing global supply chaos, which is seemingly still increasing. Product shortages are affecting almost all industries, from the automotive sector, electronics and furniture industry to building supplies. In addition, as demand continues to increase, shortage of shipping containers has led to drastic inflation of shipping cost; for example, shipment of goods from Shanghai to Los Angeles has increased tenfold. And the story does not end here. The latest outbreak of the pandemic in China has again caused extensive factory closures and reduced truck traffic across the country, while the sanctions against Russia mean that railroad shipments from Middle Kingdom to Europe, amounting to millions of containers, must also be shifted to the sea. The war in Ukraine threatens new shortages, including nickel, aluminium, sunflower oil and many other raw materials.

The supply chain is apparently too complex, interconnected and dependent on distant factories to be immune to the disruptions we are experiencing now. To handle the crisis, businesses need to reassess and transform their current manufacturing models and sites. Needless to say, a change of consumer behaviours and purchasing patterns will also be essential to control the chaos, as some products will not be produced at all, and others will not be affordable.
The exhibition "Waiting for Delivery" shows alternative models of transport and innovative solutions that can change existing production processes. It also presents ways to involve more end consumers in the process of product manufacturing. The new reality forces all of us to adjust