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Resilient supply chains and building trade capacities

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SDGsThe COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate, disruptive impact on supply chains as countries enacted containment measures and border closures, leaving millions of people worldwide unemployed. A publication by the International Trade Centre shows that among the private sector, Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), especially those led by women, youth, ethnic minorities and migrants, suffered the most. Research on disruptions in global trade reveals that policies that reduce time and uncertainties along value chains are essential for rapid recovery.

UNIDO, through its work on norm promotion and standard-setting, as well as its analytical and policy advisory services, works actively to support Member States in the implementation of policies and standards that enable sustainable and inclusive supply chain management, ensuring the integration of MSMEs in global and regional value chains.

Research & articles

  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Identifying opportunities for export-driven industrialization

    Big data can help detecting high-potential export products to support diversification.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Risk, resilience and recalibration in global value chains

    China’s post-COVID-19 recovery may hold clues to the future of global value chains.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    The impact of COVID-19 on manufacturing investments

    Advances in production technology and a trend towards shorter supply chains make a return to “business as usual” highly unlikely.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Lessons from past disruptions to global value chains

    The recovery of supply chains can be supported through trade policies and firm-specific initiatives.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    How the pandemic disrupts global value chains

    COVID-19 struck at the core of GVC hub regions, with severe implications for international production networks.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    How to minimize the negative impact on industry

    Resolute policy action is required to sustain productive capacity and mitigate supply and demand shocks.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Global maritime supply chains in times of COVID-19

    The pandemic took the maritime transport industry by surprise and is now accentuating some of its long-term challenges.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Is near-shoring likely to increase after COVID-19?

    As European businesses consider bringing their global operations closer to home the Western Balkan region stands to benefit from it.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    The changing landscape of international business post-COVID-19

    The pandemic will have an uneven impact on international business potentially changing the landscape in which companies operate.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Adoption of investment facilitation measures for development?

    To facilitate FDI in developing countries, understanding technical and financial needs to transition from idea to adoption is vital.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Ethiopian firms’ gains from infrastructure and trade liberalization

    Road infrastructure can play a key role in ensuring that trade liberalization results in productivity enhancements for firms.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    Trade, technology and a just circular transition

    A new generation of technologies is poised to restructure the global trading system and accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

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  • COVID-19: Long-term support for biotech yields vaccine promise in Cuba
    The pandemic through a trade lens

    Global trade has proved to be less vulnerable than many initially feared and may help drive the recovery.

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Training modules

Training Academy - Quality Infrastructure and Trade

Training Academy - International Business Alliances

Training Academy - Quality Policy

Examples of activities

In West Africa, the development of a quality infrastructure has been identified as a key measure to strengthen regional and economic integration. Since 2001, the European Union and UNIDO have been supporting the ECOWAS Commission to enhance trade and competitiveness through the promotion of quality culture in the region. Thousands of people in the private and public sector were trained, regional and national quality policies came into being, laboratories accredited and SMEs ISO-certified. Today, joint efforts continue through UNIDO’s participation at the regional level and in most national branches of the EU’s “West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) to strengthen the competitiveness of West Africa and to enhance the countries’ integration into the regional and international trading system.

Find out more on the OpenData platform.

UNIDO’s support to the Indian automotive industry in collaboration with ACMA (Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India) and DHI (Department of Heavy Industry) goes back to 1999 and finds its origins in the recognition of the need of the Indian automotive component industry to be globally competitive and to embrace globally accepted best practices. The project aims at improving productivity and innovation of automotive component manufacturers through application of world-class techniques in selected manufacturers and improvement of the industry's business support and innovation ecosystem. It specifically targets small- and medium-sized enterprises with the aim of strengthening their integration in national and international value chains in the automotive sector.

Find out more on the OpenData platform.

Since 2014, UNIDO has been supporting Armenia to revitalize its clothing and footwear industry through the project “Industrial Upgrading and Modernization Programme in Armenia”. The two initial phases of the project aimed to maintain and increase the local textile, clothing, leather and footwear enterprises’ domestic market share, and to contribute to Armenia’s integration into regional and global markets. In particular, the project aimed at building local capacity to support the development and modernization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and to position Armenian products as high-end designer goods. Based on the success stories from phase I and II, a third phase has been developed that extends beyond the fashion industry to additional beneficiary sectors. The third phase aims at improving competitiveness of export-oriented industries in Armenia through modernization and market access, with a special emphasis on light industry sub-sectors.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, several of the manufacturers supported through the UNIDO technical assistance project also diversified their production to include medical masks.

Find out more on the OpenData platform.

Events

  • 6-7 December 2021: Forum on Globalization and Industrialization
  • 21 October 2021: UNIDO at the World Investment Forum 2021
  • 19 October 2021: Brand Global Summit 2021
  • FGI

    The Forum on Globalization and Industrialization is annual forum jointly organized by UNIDO, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the Kiel Centre for Globalization. The 2021 edition is aiming to address the challenges and opportunities of globalization and industrialization, especially in the framework of the current COVID-19 crisis, under the overarching theme ‘Rewiring global production networks for sustainability’. The 2021 Forum aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities of sustainable  production in global supply chains. Particularly, the forum will explore policies, governance modes as well as novel business models that can foster inclusiveness and sustainability in global production networks, thus, supporting the joint global efforts to build a better future.

    For more information on the Forum, please visit the dedicated webpage here.

  • More information on UNIDO’s contribution can be accessed here.

  • The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNID) and the European Brand Institute (EBI) hosted the 17th Brand Global Summit on 19 October 2021. The Summit explored the topic of “Brands for Change”, highlighting brands’ role as major game-changers in the context of post-pandemic economic development, as well as their largely untapped potential for boosting recovery while unleashing creativity and innovation.

    The recording of the event is available through the following link and more information on the event, including its outcomes can be accessed here.