{"id":13837,"date":"2020-12-12T21:11:19","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T02:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?p=13837"},"modified":"2020-12-12T21:12:36","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T02:12:36","slug":"covid-19-vaccine-availability-supply-chain-bullwhip-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/covid-19-vaccine-availability-supply-chain-bullwhip-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 Vaccine Availability: Supply Chain Bullwhip Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Will there be enough Covid-19 vaccine doses available in time for our 2021 travel plans? Now that the coronavirus vaccine is approved and ready for release, we know that FedEx and UPS are cooperating to facilitate a rapid distribution to all 50 states (the cooperation is quite simple, they split the country in half). The question on everyone’s mind…<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When will I be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine shot? Late Spring 2021 seems to be the best estimate for most Americans. There are certain high risk groups that are first in line to receive the early shipments, for example medical workers and the elderly. For the rest of us, the initial wave of doses will probably be very hard obtain (similar to getting testing kits during the early April \/ May months).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Bullwhip Effect<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Have no fear, though. We are confident that the classic supply chain Bullwhip Effect will kick in here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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The Supply Chain Bullwhip Effect, S. Kuttappa<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Every first year MBA student learns a few basic concepts and frameworks in operations research. One is the infamous network effect<\/a>, which explains why sites such as Craigslist, New York City rental<\/a> site RentHop<\/a>, condo and co-op site RealtyHop<\/a>, and recently IPO’ed Airbnb<\/a> build a moat that protects their business. In these two-sided marketplaces, the value of the service is minimal when there are very few users, but continues to expand as more users join the service.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Bullwhip Effect is another classic. Even a small shock to customer demand can rapidly lead to over-production, as each player along the complex supply chain attempts to adapt to the new demand. Even with all of today’s technology, supply chain communication has natural lag between the various players, and everyone’s individual incentives amplify the problem.<\/p>\r\n

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