How has the recent global pandemic impacted supply chain management? Chapter 1: How has the recent global pandemic impacted supply chain management? It made things more difficult, particularly for global supply chains-companies have gone bankrupt, retailers have stopped buying regularly, ports have shut down unexpectedly, and many purchases have gone online as people stayed home. It made things easier because there were fewer suppliers to order from. Supplies of PPE decreased because supplies of household essentials increased. Supplies of PPE increased because demand increased