We discuss with TWS Partners’ CEO Marcus Schreiber which economic reasons led to the impressively short development time for a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. Marcus describes that risk mitigation and clever incentive structures set by the governments significantly contributed to this success story. This can be seen as a prime example for market design, a subfield of game theory. For our German listeners: You can read more on this topic in Marc’s column in the Handelsblatt (https://www.handelsblatt.com/meinung/kolumnen/expertenrat/schreiber/expertenrat-marcus-schreiber-gut-dass-staaten-die-impfstoffentwicklung-nicht-allein-dem-markt-ueberlassen/26663870.html)

How to improve supply chain resilience with the help of economists Supply chain disruptions usually awaken companies to the problems they have within their supply network. For example, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami led to the Fukushima disaster and shortages in the global electronics business. Now Covid-19 affects the supply chain of virtually every […]

On Monday, 12 October 2020, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson were awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for improvements to auction theory and the development of new auction formats. In our webinar special, we highlight the relevance of Milgrom and Wilson’s research for businesses, and why their work is considered ground-breaking.

In procurement activities, numerous non-commercial factors typically play a role in the sourcing decision. However, most organisations don’t have the means nor the resources needed to finalise all relevant negotiations before or latest at the time of supplier nomination. The typical approach is therefore to divide the problem into two main streams: while the vast […]

Disruptions as a result of Brexit, trade wars and now Covid-19 are threatening to destabilise the global economy and generate new barriers to trade. All these developments severely challenge companies’ previous planning assumptions and require them to react. Procurement and supply chain professionals need to be able to rapidly adjust to changing market conditions in […]

The logistics sector is one of the industries most affected by the pandemic – with the potential to severely and permanently transform the logistics landscape in the mid- and long-term. While logistics providers struggle to adapt to the new environment and to protect their profitable business model, their customers find that their pre-covid logistics frameworks […]