From the Ted Talk by Dustin Burke: How to fix broken supply chains
Unscramble the Blue Letters
But in order to do this, we need to know who shares the same rsiks. And in order to know that, we need a radical improvement in supply-chain transparency. Right now, seemingly everything we want to buy is delayed because of a lack of microprocessors, even cars. But how could the auto industry -- arguably the industry that invented supplier collaboration and supply-chain visibility -- be caught by surprise? Microprocessors pwoer the computers that, increasingly, make our cars work the way they're supposed to. And early in the COVID-19 pandemic, auto mrnutfacuares canceled orders for microprocessors out of fear that car sales would pmmluet. And around the same time, demand for those microprocessors in consumer electronics went way up. Parents bought tablets so their kids could learn from home, newly remote woerkrs bought laptops. Then, a fire at a chip plant meant fewer of these mrsorpeosoiccrs were even being made. And by the time car sales began to recover, microprocessors were on back order. In other words, the reason why automotive companies can't get the microprocessors they need has little, if anything, to do with the automotive industry. And this is a good example of a baoerdr pobrlem. In splupy chain, your risks are not tied only to your cetmrsous or to your ctpioeortms, but also to those companies who are using the same inputs. I doubt Ford considers the PlayStation 5 to be a competitor to the F-150, but in this case, they could have been cnopetimg for the same, sacrce resource.
Open Cloze
But in order to do this, we need to know who shares the same _____. And in order to know that, we need a radical improvement in supply-chain transparency. Right now, seemingly everything we want to buy is delayed because of a lack of microprocessors, even cars. But how could the auto industry -- arguably the industry that invented supplier collaboration and supply-chain visibility -- be caught by surprise? Microprocessors _____ the computers that, increasingly, make our cars work the way they're supposed to. And early in the COVID-19 pandemic, auto _____________ canceled orders for microprocessors out of fear that car sales would _______. And around the same time, demand for those microprocessors in consumer electronics went way up. Parents bought tablets so their kids could learn from home, newly remote _______ bought laptops. Then, a fire at a chip plant meant fewer of these _______________ were even being made. And by the time car sales began to recover, microprocessors were on back order. In other words, the reason why automotive companies can't get the microprocessors they need has little, if anything, to do with the automotive industry. And this is a good example of a ______________. In ______ chain, your risks are not tied only to your _________ or to your ___________, but also to those companies who are using the same inputs. I doubt Ford considers the PlayStation 5 to be a competitor to the F-150, but in this case, they could have been _________ for the same, ______ resource.
Solution
problem
power
scarce
manufacturers
broader
plummet
workers
competitors
competing
microprocessors
risks
customers
supply
Original Text
But in order to do this, we need to know who shares the same risks. And in order to know that, we need a radical improvement in supply-chain transparency. Right now, seemingly everything we want to buy is delayed because of a lack of microprocessors, even cars. But how could the auto industry -- arguably the industry that invented supplier collaboration and supply-chain visibility -- be caught by surprise? Microprocessors power the computers that, increasingly, make our cars work the way they're supposed to. And early in the COVID-19 pandemic, auto manufacturers canceled orders for microprocessors out of fear that car sales would plummet. And around the same time, demand for those microprocessors in consumer electronics went way up. Parents bought tablets so their kids could learn from home, newly remote workers bought laptops. Then, a fire at a chip plant meant fewer of these microprocessors were even being made. And by the time car sales began to recover, microprocessors were on back order. In other words, the reason why automotive companies can't get the microprocessors they need has little, if anything, to do with the automotive industry. And this is a good example of a broader problem. In supply chain, your risks are not tied only to your customers or to your competitors, but also to those companies who are using the same inputs. I doubt Ford considers the PlayStation 5 to be a competitor to the F-150, but in this case, they could have been competing for the same, scarce resource.