As a typical “black swan” event, COVID-19 took the world by complete surprise. This newly identified coronavirus was first seen in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China, on December 31, 2019. As we enter March 2020, the virus has infected over 90,000 people, and led to more than 3,000 deaths. More importantly, more than 75 countries are now reporting positive cases of COVID-19 as the virus spreads globally, impacting communities, ecosystems, and supply chains far beyond China.

The focus of most businesses is now on protecting employees, understanding the risks to their business, and managing the supply chain disruptions caused by the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. The full impact of this epidemic on businesses and supply chains is still unknown, with the most optimistic forecasts predicting that normalcy in China may return by April,1 with a full global recovery lagging depending on how other geographies are ultimately affected by the virus. However, one thing is certain: this event will have global economic and financial
ramifications that will be felt throughout global supply chains, from raw materials to finished products. Our recent report, COVID-19: Managing supply chain risk and disruption, provided 25 recommendations for companies that have business relationships and supply chain flows to and/or from China and other impacted geographies. One of these recommendations was to focus on cash flow. Supply chain disruptions have cash flow implications across the extended supply chain that can’t be underestimated. This paper will suggest ways organizations can mitigate damages to their business during this volatile eventgx-COVID-19-managing-cash-flow-in-crisis