Case Study
Rethinking corporate strategy amid COVID-19
The Challenge
The coronavirus pandemic has rocked global supply chains as industry and consumer demands have shifted and supplies, particularly those from China, have dried up. Across sectors, companies and organizations are reevaluating how they will provide services and products in the future. They need data-driven guidance to revise their business models in a new and uncertain landscape.
We have to understand business in real time—and that’s exactly what happens when we partner with industries. Companies learn from us, and we as researchers expand our own toolkits.”
Nada Sanders
Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management
The Partnership
Nada Sanders, Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, is an expert in rethinking corporate technology strategy and building resilient supply networks. She works with industry partners—including a major U.S. airline and a consumer electronics company—to help them meet their business needs while advancing her research. Conferring with representatives across these organizations, she digs into their data and presents leaders with a path forward. In particular, she helps organizations leverage datasets, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to automate functions, make predictions, mitigate risk, trim costs, and expand markets.
The Goal
These partnerships are mutually beneficial, Sanders says. Companies get answers to questions that help inform their strategic vision, given global changes in supply and demand. How, for example, are customer needs evolving? Could materials and products be sourced differently? For Sanders, these collaborations provide valuable insight into real-world business challenges. She is able to spot trends, publish her findings (while protecting her partners’ identities and trade secrets), and share all she learns with students and the business world.