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The Case of the Missing Toilet Paper
Article

The Case of the Missing Toilet Paper

How the Coronavirus Exposed US Supply Chain Flaws

Fortune, 2020


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Usually just-in-time manufacturing facilities and on-demand supply chains do a good job of getting you what you want, when you want it, but they aren’t designed for a crisis. As Fortune magazine writer Jen Wieczner explains, the COVID-related United States’ run on toilet paper provides an object lesson about the challenges that extraordinary times pose to the delivery of ordinary products. Learn why this link in the supply chain broke and what manufacturers and retailers are doing to restore rolls to your restroom.

Take-Aways

  • Manufacturing facilities and supply chains designed for optimum efficiency are vulnerable to major disruptions like the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Toilet paper comes from eucalyptus trees.
  • Changing a supply chain’s structure on short notice is costly and difficult.

About the Author

Jen Wieczner is a senior writer covering finance and business at Fortune magazine and a founding editor of The Ledger, which explores the intersection of money and technology.