供应链紧张，美国人今夏或难买到啤酒和爆米花
今年暑假，在餐厅和食品杂货店，从爆米花到拉差酱等热门食品将出现供应短缺，这表明全球供应链依旧面临压力。
过去几个月，许多似乎不太常见的食物变得非常昂贵，甚至很难买得到。其中包括澳大利亚的莴苣、日本的洋葱和萨拉米香肠、德国的瓶装啤酒等，商户很难找到替代品满足顾客的需求。
这个问题与产品本身并没有太大关系，更主要的原因在于全球供应链紧张。供应链问题受到了许多因素的影响，包括恶劣的气候、疫情、地缘政治紧张和需求反弹等。
当制造商无法生产足够的玻璃瓶和铝罐时，最终会影响人们购买苏打水和啤酒的能力。海运集装箱短缺和劳动市场紧张，加剧了供应链挑战。俄乌冲突加剧了供应链问题，从谷物到烹调用油的供应短缺，导致粮食和能源价格暴涨。
最近又有一种商品变得一件难求，那就是拉差酱。因为红辣椒供应不足，这种经典调味酱的生产商汇丰食品公司（Huy Fong Foods Inc.），不得不暂时停产。消费者纷纷开始囤货，有人哀叹这是“年度最糟糕的新闻”，认为这是“世界末日”。
德国的啤酒爱好者则面临啤酒瓶不足，部分原因是俄乌战争。乌克兰是酿酒厂的玻璃供应来源。据《纽约时报》报道，在喜欢喝酒的国家，酿酒厂支付的电力和大麦成本已经在不断上涨，他们呼吁顾客能够退回空瓶。
美国的爆米花供应不足也引起了影迷们的担忧。今年暑期档期间，有成百上千万人将涌入电影院。除了盛爆米花的盖子、杯子和纸袋短缺，农民可能也在放弃种植玉米，选择更有利可图的农作物。
就连买蔬菜也变得越来越难。澳大利亚的莴苣短缺，使肯德基（KFC）不得不在汉堡中加入了圆白菜。该快餐业巨头称，今年早些时候部分地区遭遇严重洪灾，导致供应链中断。在英国，麦当劳（McDonald’s）不得不定量供应西红柿，将每次的用量从两片减少到一片。导致西红柿供应短缺的原因是使用天然气使得温室加热的成本增加。
而麦当劳由于供应链混乱影响了货运速度，在多个国家不得不暂停销售大份炸薯条，之后全球土豆荒登上了媒体头条。新加坡肯德基餐厅用华夫薯饼代替薯条。肯尼亚肯德基餐厅由于运输延误没有薯条可卖时，社交媒体上有人号召抵制该快餐业巨头，因为肯德基不使用本地采购的土豆。
在日本，从洋葱到萨拉米香肠均供应不足，这意味着餐厅不得不停止供应某些菜肴。由于泰国劳动力短缺，家族式意大利连锁餐厅萨莉亚（Saizeriya）暂停供应一款烤鸡正餐。该餐厅还停止供应一款萨拉米香肠开胃菜，因为非洲猪瘟爆发后，日本便暂停从意大利进口猪肉和腌肉。
Coupa Software公司供应链策略副总裁麦德哈弗·德哈表示，公司领导者需要重新考虑生产和采购的方式与地点。通过新技术和更妥善的规划，他们可以减少潜在的延误和收入损失，避免为了应对供应短缺“四处灭火”。（财富中文网）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
今年暑假，在餐厅和食品杂货店，从爆米花到拉差酱等热门食品将出现供应短缺，这表明全球供应链依旧面临压力。
过去几个月，许多似乎不太常见的食物变得非常昂贵，甚至很难买得到。其中包括澳大利亚的莴苣、日本的洋葱和萨拉米香肠、德国的瓶装啤酒等，商户很难找到替代品满足顾客的需求。
这个问题与产品本身并没有太大关系，更主要的原因在于全球供应链紧张。供应链问题受到了许多因素的影响，包括恶劣的气候、疫情、地缘政治紧张和需求反弹等。
当制造商无法生产足够的玻璃瓶和铝罐时，最终会影响人们购买苏打水和啤酒的能力。海运集装箱短缺和劳动市场紧张，加剧了供应链挑战。俄乌冲突加剧了供应链问题，从谷物到烹调用油的供应短缺，导致粮食和能源价格暴涨。
最近又有一种商品变得一件难求，那就是拉差酱。因为红辣椒供应不足，这种经典调味酱的生产商汇丰食品公司（Huy Fong Foods Inc.），不得不暂时停产。消费者纷纷开始囤货，有人哀叹这是“年度最糟糕的新闻”，认为这是“世界末日”。
德国的啤酒爱好者则面临啤酒瓶不足，部分原因是俄乌战争。乌克兰是酿酒厂的玻璃供应来源。据《纽约时报》报道，在喜欢喝酒的国家，酿酒厂支付的电力和大麦成本已经在不断上涨，他们呼吁顾客能够退回空瓶。
美国的爆米花供应不足也引起了影迷们的担忧。今年暑期档期间，有成百上千万人将涌入电影院。除了盛爆米花的盖子、杯子和纸袋短缺，农民可能也在放弃种植玉米，选择更有利可图的农作物。
就连买蔬菜也变得越来越难。澳大利亚的莴苣短缺，使肯德基（KFC）不得不在汉堡中加入了圆白菜。该快餐业巨头称，今年早些时候部分地区遭遇严重洪灾，导致供应链中断。在英国，麦当劳（McDonald’s）不得不定量供应西红柿，将每次的用量从两片减少到一片。导致西红柿供应短缺的原因是使用天然气使得温室加热的成本增加。
而麦当劳由于供应链混乱影响了货运速度，在多个国家不得不暂停销售大份炸薯条，之后全球土豆荒登上了媒体头条。新加坡肯德基餐厅用华夫薯饼代替薯条。肯尼亚肯德基餐厅由于运输延误没有薯条可卖时，社交媒体上有人号召抵制该快餐业巨头，因为肯德基不使用本地采购的土豆。
在日本，从洋葱到萨拉米香肠均供应不足，这意味着餐厅不得不停止供应某些菜肴。由于泰国劳动力短缺，家族式意大利连锁餐厅萨莉亚（Saizeriya）暂停供应一款烤鸡正餐。该餐厅还停止供应一款萨拉米香肠开胃菜，因为非洲猪瘟爆发后，日本便暂停从意大利进口猪肉和腌肉。
Coupa Software公司供应链策略副总裁麦德哈弗·德哈表示，公司领导者需要重新考虑生产和采购的方式与地点。通过新技术和更妥善的规划，他们可以减少潜在的延误和收入损失，避免为了应对供应短缺“四处灭火”。（财富中文网）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
A shortage of popular food items from popcorn to sriracha is hitting restaurants and grocery shelves this summer, a sign that the world’s immense supply chains are still under pressure.
Over the past few months, many seemingly random foods have become wildly expensive or unusually hard to find. These include lettuce in Australia, onions and salami in Japan, and even bottled beer in Germany, sending businesses scrambling to find alternatives to feed their customers.
The problem is usually not so much a lack of the product itself but more to do with a stretched global supply chain. It’s a whirlwind of factors, from adverse weather to the pandemic to geopolitical tensions and rebounding demand.
When manufacturers can’t make enough glass bottles and aluminum cans, it trickles down to people’s ability to buy things like soda and beer. A shipping container shortage and tight labor market add to supply chain challenges. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated those issues, cutting off supplies of grains and cooking oils, and causing food and energy prices to soar.
One of the newest additions to the list of hard-to-find items is sriracha. The maker of the iconic sauce, Huy Fong Foods Inc., has been forced to suspend production due to a lack of chili peppers. Consumers are rushing to stock up, with some lamenting the “worst news of the year” and the “end of days.”
Beer drinkers in Germany are facing a shortage of bottles, partly because of the war in Ukraine, which supplies brewers with glass. Breweries in the booze-loving nation, which are already paying more for electricity and barley, are urging customers to return their empties, the New York Times reported.
A dearth of popcorn in the US has also become a source of worry for movie goers as millions make their way to cinemas for the summer blockbuster season. Not only are containers like lids, cups and paper bags in short supply, farmers may also be giving up corn to switch to more lucrative crops.
Even vegetables are harder to come by. A lettuce shortage in Australia prompted KFC to put cabbage in its burgers. The fast food giant cited supply chain disruptions after heavy flooding in some areas earlier this year. In the UK, McDonald’s had to ration tomatoes, using one slice instead of two. The tomato shortage is due to the high cost of heating greenhouses with gas.
A global potato shortage made headlines after McDonald’s had to halt sales of large-sized fries in several countries as supply-chain snarls slowed shipments. Singapore’s KFC restaurants replaced fries with waffle hash. In Kenya, when KFC ran out of fries due to shipping delays, social media users called for a boycott of the fast food chain for not using locally sourced potatoes.
In Japan, shortages ranged from onions to salami, which meant eateries had to pull certain dishes from their menus. Saizeriya, a chain of family-style Italian restaurants, suspended a grilled chicken entree because of a labor shortage in Thailand. It also discontinued a salami appetizer after Japan suspended pork and cured meat imports from Italy following an African swine fever outbreak.
Madhav Durbha, vice president of supply-chain strategy at Coupa Software Inc., said business leaders need to rethink how and where they produce and source from. Through new technologies and better planning, they can reduce potential delays, lost revenues and “constant fire fighting” to manage shortages.
