BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

Success is certain with simplified

supply chains
1 Warmer

a. Discuss in groups.

• Supply chains involve every aspect of production management, beginning with the first point
of product manufacture and running through to the end point of the customer. Which types of
businesses are likely to have many contributors in their supply chains, and who might these
contributors be? Which businesses might have a very limited number of contributors and why?

2 Key words

a. Read the definitions and match them with words found in the article. Paragraph numbers are
given to you to help.

1. a small and sudden problem, especially with technology such as a computer

(1)

2. for a limited period of time (3)

3. not very important, serious, or valuable (3)

4. experts in their field, especially ones who advise a government department, business, or

organisation (5)

5. substances put into the body, usually by injection, to provide protection against a disease

(5)

6. to stop working or behaving correctly (5; two words)

7. gradually reduced the strength or importance of something (6)

8. people, time or money that could be used more effectively in an organisation

(6)

9. made to appear bigger than it really is (8)

10. improving a business, organisation, process etc by making it more modern or simple
Advanced

(9)

11. best or most favourable option (9)

12. a public record of transactions made in bitcoin, or another cryptocurrency, in chronological order

(12)
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 1

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

b. Complete the text with the key words. Two of the words are not needed.

The recent delay in supplying 1 has 2

the relationship between elderly patients and their doctors in the village of Goodworth Clatford.
This demographic is unable to leave the house easily, so they rely doctors’ surgeries
3  the process and visiting them at home. This should be as simple
as a doctor or nurse hopping in a taxi and heading over to the patient’s house to administer an
injection. However, several problems have arisen along the way that have brought this function to
a grinding halt.

Firstly, a 4 with the computer system resulted in many patients’ names

being missed from the list for the first vaccine round. Once the problem had been rectified, surgeries
found deliveries of more vaccines were 5 delayed, with planes bringing
supplies from the US unable to take off due to a storm. While some patients were understanding,
others felt the delays were 6 and that greater supply should have been
arranged long before the storm hit.

To top things off, traffic lights on the main road leading into the village had gone 7  ,
showing red or amber when they should have been green. Traffic cameras have been well-established
in the village since a major bus accident, and taxis ferrying nurses were reluctant to drive on for fear
of unfair fines. To pick up the 8 , many nurses attempted to walk the rest
of the way, but limited internet connection to their phones meant that many were walking around with
no map.

Goodworth Clatford has not been the only place in the UK affected by vaccine hold-ups. Problems in
the village simply 9 a wider problem with supply. Vaccines are certainly
the most concerning aspect of delays, but many industries have been rocked by similar issues. The
construction industry, fitness equipment, and home technology industries have all been impacted.
10  have informed the government that if supply is not increased across
the economic landscape quickly, there could be lasting issues when the country is already facing the
most testing situation in its history.
Advanced

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 2

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS
‘Just in time’ planning has to give way to
‘just in case’
‘WE HAVE ALL BECOME ACCUSTOMED TO RELYING ON ULTRA-COMPLEX SUPPLY CHAINS WE
DO NOT UNDERSTAND’
BY GILLIAN TETT
1 A few weeks ago I experienced a problem that
would make any author wince: on the very day that I
published my book, Amazon suffered a supply-chain
glitch and thousands of copies went missing. That
sparked a scramble to work out where in cyberspace
they were — or, more accurately, in which warehouse
they were sitting. Meanwhile the website suggested
that my book had not been published at all. 
2 Thankfully, the hiccup was resolved in a couple of
days. But the episode illustrates a much bigger point:
in the 21st century we have all become accustomed
to relying on ultra-complex supply chains we do not
understand and tend to trust these will always work.  the 2008 financial crisis when numerous different
3 Yet in the past year many of these supply chains
have temporarily frozen, or broken down, and remain
troubled, even today. Sometimes the consequences
seem trivial: when I recently ordered a dishwasher,
for example, the website promised to deliver it within
a week, which has now been amended to months.  ultimately magnified.
4 Other glitches are more serious: Goldman Sachs
estimates that a shortage of computer chips will hit
169 industries this year, cutting American growth by
up to 1 per cent. And doctors have warned in The
BMJ that glitches in the medical supply chain affect
far more than just personal protective equipment and
even “endanger patients”.  production is concentrated in Taiwan, which develops
5 Either way, the fact that these glitches keep emerging
is surprising. After all, economists have warned for
months that demand for goods and services across
the economy would explode if (or when) vaccines
were rolled out. Meanwhile, tech giants also know
us (and thus our potential ordering habits) intimately.
Yet a sudden localised shock, such as a temporary
Advanced
blockage of the Suez Canal, causes spasms. And the
Covid-19 pandemic and recovery have made these
systems go equally haywire.
6 Why? Part of the problem is obvious: the pandemic
caused factories to shut down. However, another
problem is that western manufacturers and retailers
Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022.
have become so addicted to chasing efficiency and
price reductions that they have eroded any buffers
or spare inventories in the system to absorb shock.
Or as Nada Sanders, a supply chain professor, notes
in a recent essay on The Conversation platform, “as
customers demand ever cheaper products delivered
faster, supply chains have given up every bit of slack.”
7 There is another, less obvious, problem: risk
management systems that seem sensible for
individuals can be bad for the system as a whole.
8 We saw one version of this problem play out in
institutions had each decided to insure themselves
against the risk of losses in their complex credit
products. That was sensible on an individual level.
But many of these institutions chose to use the
same groups, concentrating their risks thanks to
the opacity of the collective transactions. Risk was
9 Something similar is happening with supply chains
now: individual companies have been streamlining
them in a way that seemed optimal — and safe — for
each. But because they have often followed the same
strategy, activity has been concentrated on nodes that
can falter or fail. It seems sensible that computer-chip
economies of scale and clusters of expertise, and
so benefits its customers. But it is dangerous for the
system as a whole.
10 Rigid thinking makes the problem worse. Take the
British dairy industry, which has been studied by
Richard Bruce, a lecturer in supply chain accounting
and finance at Sheffield university. This is organised
into three separate supply chains, around hospitality,
liquid milk and processed products. Although there
was a desperate need for co-ordination when
Covid first hit, it was initially difficult, not least
because antitrust rules prevented companies from
sharing data. 
Continued on next page
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA
3
M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

11 The good news, says Bruce, at least for British milk, 13 But the bad news is that it’s never easy to instil a
is that in 2020 a quasi government body stepped in mindset shift, least of all in a world where company
to enforce a more holistic approach to milk supply executives are prone to tunnel vision and where the
chains. Better still, the Covid problems have prompted cost and consequences of excessively “efficient”
“lots of business and governments to rethink supply global supply chains are often hidden in plain sight
chains” and not just for milk.  from consumers and investors. Which, ironically, is
a key theme of my (temporarily) missing books. The
12 Management consultants, for example, are promoting literary gods must have a sense of schadenfreude.
the idea of supply chain “resilience” in the face
of shocks, not just “efficiency”. A “just-in-case”
philosophy of contingency planning is edging out the
“just-in-time” mantra. And American and European
governments are trying to create more centralised
supply chain databases, particularly for things such
as medical supplies. Bottom-up digital innovations,
such as blockchain, may also help promote more
co-ordination. 

Gillian Tett, 7 July 2021.

©The Financial Times.
All rights reserved.
Articles republished from the Financial Times.
Advanced

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 4

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

3 Understanding the article

a. Are these statements True or False according to the article? Correct the false statements.

1. The author of the article was concerned when Amazon suffered a supply-chain glitch and forgot to
publish her books.

2. Modern life has encouraged us to rely on complex supply chains that we don’t understand and
trust will work without problems.

3. The author ordered a washing machine – it was supposed to arrive in a few months, but it arrived
four weeks ahead of schedule.

4. Problems with the medical supply chain are limited, as they affect the supply of personal
protective equipment only.

5. The pandemic has caused factories to close down, while manufacturers and retailers have
removed buffers in favour of sales and efficiency.

6. Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, institutions insured themselves against the risk of losses in their
complex credit products.

7. Taiwan is a hub for computer chip production and a combination of economies of scale and
clusters of expertise bring benefits for customers.

8. The British dairy industry is organised into three different supply chains: liquid milk, processed
products, and the hospitality sector.

9. The pandemic has made governments rethink supply chains and realise that they need to add in
several new stages.

10. The thematic focus of the author’s book is about excessively efficient supply chains that come
with costs and consequences.
Advanced

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 5

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

4 Business language

a. The prefix en- means to cause or to put into. The prefix ultra- means very or to exceed. Match
the words containing these prefixes with their synonyms.

Words with prefixes Synonyms

ultra-fast jeopardise
endanger convoluted
enforce accelerated
ultra-complex effectuate

b. Read and sentences and match the words with prefixes form part a. with the sentence that best
relates to them.

1. Staff were not complying by the rules, so it was time to introduce monitoring tools that ensured
they turned up for meetings on time.

2. Electric car manufacturers are racing to demonstrate that they can develop a vehicle that outruns
even the speediest petrol model.

3. If we continue to send carers into care homes without vaccinations or adequate protection
equipment, we are going to continuously expose older people to this lethal pathogen.

4. Some interviews involve a multi-stage process that includes theoretical roleplay and scenario
assessment, advanced written tasks and questions posed by a large panel of interviewers.

c. Rewrite the sentences using the ultra- and en- words without changing their meaning.

5 Business language

a. Prepositions of and in are frequently used in common phrases. Use the words in the wordpool
to complete the phrases below.

just   economies   case   expertise   time   clusters   just   scale

1. of
Advanced

2. in

3. of

4. in
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 6

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

b. Complete the sentences using the of and in phrases.

1. Lack of communication between teams often results in

promotion and while engagement across social media channels might be sufficient, it certainly
won’t deliver the wow! factor in an analytics review.

2. For a limited time only, we are offering our super-sized box of luxury chocolates for just
£14.99 – because celebrations are all about unexpected guests, and we can all benefit from
the  approach!

3. Small organisations working with marginalised groups have excellent knowledge on the best way
to approach these demographics, and their value as cannot
be understated.

4. They sought out a new supplier in Europe, reaping the dual benefits of reduced production and
courier costs, allowing them to build through a reduced product
price and a greater customer base.

6 Discussion questions

a. Discuss these questions.

• The dairy, medical, and technology supply chains have all been rocked by the pandemic. Which of
these could have the biggest impact on and create the biggest problems for society?

• Efficient processes enable manufacturers and retailers to save on production and this saving of
costs always benefits the customer with reduced sales prices. Do you agree with this statement?
Why/Why not?

• The author of the article suggests that company executives have ‘tunnel vision’ (the tendency to
concentrate on one goal or aspect of something without considering anything else) when it comes
to supply chains. What other aspects of business might suffer from business executives having
tunnel vision?
Advanced

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 7

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

7 Wider business theme – Improving efficiency

Work within your group to discuss the description for A or B.

A: You are staff at a home improvements shop. One of your key products is wooden furniture. You are
looking for ways to simplify the supply chain. This means removing contributions that are not necessary
and finding ways to replace necessary suppliers with ones that could supply more than one aspect of
the chain.

Look at the diagram below to see the current supply chain, beginning with the first point of manufacture
at the top and ending with the customer at the bottom. Nominate one person from your group to write the
new supply chain and any notes on to the paper supplied by your teacher.

Wooden furniture supply chain

Forester / wood cutter

cuts trees down

Courier
takes raw wood to sawmill

Sawmill
wood cut into suitable pieces

Courier
takes pieces to carpenter

Carpenter
creates wooden furniture

Courier
takes furniture to painter

Painter
adds paint and varnish
Advanced

Courier
takes furniture to shop

Customer
buys furniture from shop
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 8

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 BUSINESS NEWS LESSONS

B: You are staff at a home improvements shop. One of your key products is bedding sets. Bedding sets
include a bed sheet that goes on the mattress and covers for the duvet and pillows. You are looking for
ways to simplify the bedding set supply chain. This means removing contributions that are not necessary
and finding ways to replace necessary suppliers with ones that could supply more than one aspect of
the chain.

Look at the diagrams below to see the current supply chain, beginning with the first point of manufacture
at the top and ending with the customer at the bottom. Nominate one person from your group to write the
new supply chain and any notes on to the paper supplied by your teacher.

Bedding set supply chain

Designer
designs the bedding set

Fabric manufacturer
supplies and cuts fabric

Courier
takes fabric to embroiderer

Embroiderer
adds design with embroidery thread

Courier
takes embroidered fabric to tailor

Tailor
sews fabric to make bedding set

Courier
takes bedding set to warehouse

Warehouse
packages bed sets and couriers to shop
Advanced

Customer
buys bed set from shop
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2022. 9

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC
T
O
H
AN
•P
C