Dear Editor,
Few of us stop to think about the supply chain. However, supply chain and supply chain
management have been around for as long as businesses, whether formal or informal, have existed.
It, therefore, would be really hard not to overstate the importance of the supply chain and supply
chain management to Caribbean economies.
Most Caribbean economies depend on tourism for a significant share of their gross domestic
product; and, despite historical efforts to change this pattern, tourism has traditionally been heavily
reliant on imports. Like other economies, the Caribbean has to export its own goods and services to
obtain the foreign exchange necessary to import those goods and services that we do not produce.
Speedy, efficient, and cost-effective delivery is, therefore, vital to the survival of our economies and
the quality of life of our people. This is where the notion of supply chain and supply chain
management comes in.
Supply chain is a network of individuals and firms that are involved in creating a product, converting
it into a finished good, and delivering it to the consumer. Supply chain management involves all
activities from planning, procurement of raw materials, and the production of finished goods to final
distribution to the consumer. While it sounds simple, a careful analysis will show that a product can
pass through many steps from start to finish. So, for example, the consumer of Angostura bitters
who lives in New York City sits at the end of a complex system leading from procurement, shipping,
warehousing, marketing, and delivery to the end user. In fact, this is only a part of the process of
bringing Angostura bitters to the consumer. First, the farmers supply the input of “vegetable matter”
(herbs and spices, grasses, roots, leaves, and fruits), which is then infused with alcohol by Angostura
to make the final product.
Additional components of supply chain management include transportation, warehousing, inventory
management, and customer service. All of these activities positively impact the lives of ordinary
Caribbean people through job creation, increased access to goods and services, and economic
growth.
We wish to bring to sharper focus the critical role of transportation in the supply chain, which is the
movement of goods and services from one point to the next. The speedier and more cost-effective,
the better.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations and individuals to reflect on this
important dimension of the supply chain when they were left stranded as transportation ground to a
halt. Such was the case for many months, as there was little or no movement of goods and services
via air, ground, or sea. Economically, the reality was even grimmer for Caribbean countries when no
tourists came calling.
The pandemic awakened the sensibilities of Caribbean nations in terms of international trade. The
limited availability and sometimes absence of transportation moving goods from international
trading partners to the Caribbean drove home the point more forcefully, that transportation is
important to the economic viability of the region. So, while COVID-19 and other shocks present an
opportunity for deepening integration and lessening the dependency on main markets, such as
China and the United States, the Caribbean needs to look at critical elements in strengthening the
supply chain throughout the region.
In a 2022 article published by the Jamaica Information Service, Mr. John Mahfood, President of the
Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), spoke of the tremendous difficulties
countries around the Caribbean were experiencing with shipping logistics. This, he pointed out,
resulted in a shortage of some commodities. Some Jamaican companies were not getting the
products they needed. In light of these challenges, he stressed the need for Caribbean businesses to
look at what each country can produce and how they can support each other. Initiatives by regional
stakeholders within the supply chain to cooperate can only augur well for the transportation
element, as Caribbean nations stand to gain from increased regional trade, access to markets,
reduced costs, and timely delivery without having to focus greatly on markets external to the region
for some goods and services. Perhaps a careful study of the supply chain for goods traded within the
Caribbean might help to expand Caribbean trade and encourage the provision of more
transportation services at lower costs.
President Irfaan Ali of Guyana, in his address to the Caribbean Investment Forum in March 2022
stated, “We could create all the goods, but if you don’t have the means to move the goods and the
services, then you have a serious problem.” In essence, transportation is the key enabler of
economic and social prosperity.
An effective supply chain manages the flow of products, information, and funds to maintain a high
level of products for the market while keeping costs low. However, this flow is hampered by the lack
of a cohesive and affordable transportation system among Caribbean islands. Let us, therefore, not
forget passenger transport connectivity. The problem of intra-Caribbean travel has been a sore point
for decades. Caribbean people have often experienced many difficulties travelling intra-regionally.
Currently, there is a chronic lack of access to the movement of air cargo and passengers within the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), with LIAT 1974 in receivership and the new LIAT
2020 operating below the required airlift capacity. In the wider Caribbean, island-to-island access is
sometimes only possible through multi-city flights. Not to mention the prohibitive cost of airfare
compared to air travel outside the region. As Ambassador Ronald Sanders opined in a May 5, 2013
article in the Jamaica Observer, “The agony of Caribbean transport is crying out for focused
attention.” Indeed, travelling between Caribbean countries can be costly, tiring, and sometimes
bordering on a maze-like activity. Perhaps it is time to tackle this problem on a full-scale basis
through an analysis of a regional supply chain.
The supply chain can be considered a complex system. For it to work efficiently, it requires
collaboration from all stakeholders. If the region is to really move to the next level with its industries
and trade, the leaders of governments and businesses must move intentionally and with alacrity to
integrate and improve the transportation infrastructure within the Caribbean region, if the
Caribbean is to (i) withstand external shocks and (ii) enhance the productive capacity of our
economies by moving people, goods, and services freely throughout. It is now imperative that
Caribbean people recognize the value of the supply chain and prioritize its management to ensure
that we build sustainable economies in the region.
The time to act is now!
Contributors: Roberts, Skepple, Cain
