What is the worst, least reliable, riskiest, supply chain you ran across in 2016?  Let’s review the contenders, shall we?  In no particular order:

The Whipped Cream Supply Chain

Aerosol-based whipped cream is in short supply this holiday season.  The shortage results from industry concentration in the production of propellant used in the cans–nitrous oxide. (Yes, the same nitrous oxide of “laughing gas” or “whippet” fame.) Apparently, there are only five plants making the stuff in North America and one of them exploded, killing a worker. This supply chain snafu is no laughing matter. See here.

Alibaba/Taobao Supply Chain

The US government just placed Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace back on its list of “notorious marketplaces”. Why? Because of the high percentage of counterfeit goods and rampant intellectual property violation on the marketplace.  (“You mean to tell me those $50 Louis Vuitton handbags are not real?”, said no one ever.) I’m asking Taobao to change its name to “Counterfeits Я ‘Us”. See here.

Online Video Advertising Supply Chain

This supply chain is rotten at every step along the way. Let’s start at the end of the chain with the website trying to attract readers with content. It turns out that many of these websites, and their readers, are fake. (And I’m not even talking about the fake news on them!)

According to the New York Times:

In a twist on the peddling of fake news to real people, researchers say a Russian cyberforgery ring has created more than half a million fake internet users and 250,000 fake websites to trick advertisers into collectively paying as much as $5 million a day for video ads that are never watched. See here.

The news about the fake publishers comes on the heels of revelations from Facebook who recently admitted to false video viewership numbers:

Facebook apologized for an error in the way it measured video viewership, a miscalculation that greatly overstated how much time, on average its users were spending watching videos. The incorrect numbers were displayed to partners, including advertisers and publishers, for more than two years, as Facebook aggressively challenged YouTube for online video dominance and urged partners to embrace video publishing and advertising on the platform.  See here.

On top of all of this, the ad agencies who produce the video ads are under investigation for bid-rigging in the production of the advertising itself.  I’m not making this stuff up. See here.

Fake products, bids, metrics and viewers means we have managed to create an entirely fake supply chain:

 

The Cobalt Supply Chain

Cobalt is a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, electric cars and exploding Galaxy note 7 devices (cheap shot).  Sixty-percent of the world’s cobalt originates in the Congo from hand-dug mines where workers, including some children, work under terrible conditions.  Enjoy your next charging session thinking about that. The Washington Post has covered this supply chain extensively, see here.

The Consumer Electronics Supply Chain

The Amazon Echo is out-of-stock online.  But, it is available in a few retail stores.  I love the irony of that. Apple AirPod earbuds are finally available, but have a six-week wait.  A Google Pixel phone will entail a several week wait. The most sophisticated companies and supply chains on earth are out-of-stock for Christmas!

Conclusion

During this holiday season, if you want to avoid patronizing these global supply chains, just go to your local farmer’s market and buy some super-expensive organic produce. At least you know where your money is going!