- The changes taking place in the geopolitical and economic field will have a great impact on running a business, not only in Poland, but also abroad - said Maciej Szczotka, chief executive of Automation Trader.
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In our pages, we have already devoted a lot of space to the issue of how the pandemic, as well as other global events, affect the industry . As Automation Trader, we keep our finger on the pulse and constantly analyze all the variables that determine the future of our business.
Great shortages
We know that the pandemic left the strongest mark on the industrial automation sector, but also on other industries. The coronavirus, which has been spreading around the world for more than two years, affects many areas of our lives, and one of the areas that has been hardest hit is, of course, supplies . - I think that our industry is affected by very large shortages - revealed Maciej Szczotka.
- There is a big problem with all kinds of components. The automotive market, where there is a shortage of chips, is a good example - he continued. - The truth is that we struggle with the same phenomenon in virtually every industry and it can be mentioned as such. Unfortunately, this has to do with the breaking of supply chains in the shape in which we've known them so far - added.
The disruption of the supply chain is, of course, the fault of closing borders in other countries. Today, although we are still operating in a pandemic reality, and the losses in this sector are slowly being made up for, there is no chance of returning to the situation from two years ago.
Political chessboard
The global energy crisis also contributed to the matter, but here we enter the area of great politics . The prices of raw materials such as gas soared, which meant that, for example, in China it was considered that domestic demand would be covered first, and today you have to pay a fortune on European markets. Someone could, of course, that it all happens by chance, but really, you don't need to be particularly skilled in these matters to see that we are dealing with the pushing of powers onto the geopolitical chessboard.
For example, Russia, whose attempts at Ukrainian lands have not been known since yesterday, has made Europe dependent on itself for a long time, and today, when it blocks the launch of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, it simply follows the well-known policy of turning off the tap. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. - All these changes in the geopolitical arena are of great importance - said Maciej Szczotka.
Cumulation
- The great game between China and the United States is still going on . As regards closer issues, we can mention the tense situation on the Polish-Belarusian border or the conflict between Russia and Ukraine - he continued. - If all this is combined with what I mentioned earlier, supply chains, problems in the flow of goods from Asia or price increases, for exemple freight, we can see that we are dealing with an accumulation of certain dangerous events - concluded.
So you can see exactly how big a system of connected vessels the world market is. Pandemic, geopolitics, contests for influence between superpowers. Even the smallest and seemingly the least important element of the puzzle can in practice determine the shape of the businesses that caused the difficult year 2022.
