Shortages of components and raw materials because of the coronavirus are likely to be far worse than expected, experts warn, with most US companies unaware that they are exposed to Chinese factories idled by the outbreak.
专家警告称，新冠疫情造成的零部件和原材料短缺情况可能比预期的严重得多，多数美国企业并不清楚它们会受到中国工厂因疫情而停工的影响。
“I guarantee you that most organisations have some level of exposure that they are not aware of,” said Alex Saric, chief marketing officer at Ivalua, a platform for digitalising procurement.
数字化采购平台Ivalua的首席营销官亚历克斯•萨里奇(Alex Saric)表示：“我敢断定，大多数企业都会受到一定程度的影响，只是它们自己不清楚。”
While companies closely track their direct suppliers — the tier ones such as Foxconn that would send Apple a finished iPhone — they can be blind to their suppliers’ factories, the tier two, and those further down the chain.
企业会密切关注直接供应商的情况——也就是一级供应商，例如为苹果(Apple)供应iPhone成品的富士康(Foxconn)——但对于这些供应商的工厂、二级供应商以及更下游的厂商，它们可能并不了解。
Peter Guarraia, who leads the global supply chain practice at Bain & Co, estimated that up to 60 per cent of executives have no knowledge of the items in their supply chain beyond the tier one group.
贝恩公司(Bain & Co)全球供应链业务负责人彼得•瓜拉亚(Peter Guarraia)估计，多达60%的高管对他们的供应链上除一级供应商之外的厂商一无所知。