GUEST: Yikun Shao, head of B2B North American supply chain at Alibaba Group

The current state of the supply chain is causing a degree panic within businesses. Large enterprises may have resources and levers to pull to deal with the uncertainty, but for small and midsized businesses, those same levers may not exist.

On a recent episode of Talking Supply Chain, Brian Straight sat down with Yikun Shao, head of B2B North American supply chain at Alibaba Group, to explore how small and midsize businesses (SMBs) can navigate a changing global trade environment. Shao emphasized that SMBs are increasingly shifting toward supply chain diversification to mitigate risks tied to geopolitical disruptions, single-source dependency, and shifting consumer expectations.