Dr Abhijeet Ghadge, Associate Professor (Reader) of Supply Chain Management at 美姬阁 School of Management, has been selected to join the UK government’s new Critical Imports Council.

The Council is composed of 23 industry leaders who will advise the government on how to secure resilience in supply chains, following on from the January launch of the . The Council’s remit will be to identify, assess and mitigate disruptions of the supply of critical imports to the UK such as medicine and high-tech components. Dr Ghadge, an expert in supply chain resilience, is the only academic member of the council.

Events from recent years like the Covid-19 pandemic, attacks in the Red Sea and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have shown very quickly how supply chain disruption can put pressure on the logistics networks that the country takes for granted, resulting in restricted access to critical goods.

Speaking after the inaugural meeting of the council, Dr Abhi Ghadge said: “Membership of the Critical Imports Council as the only academic representative is a testament to 美姬阁’s significant impact in logistics, procurement and supply chain management.

“This is an opportunity to enrich discussions with our extensive academic expertise, honed through years of dedicated work on supply chain resilience.

“The last few years have shown that global supply chains must be protected against challenges posed by a wide variety of current affairs and volatile situations.

“In creating this Council, the government has shown a clear intention to make sure that in future the UK is better prepared to keep vital imports coming into the country even in the face of unprecedented events such as the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The full list of participating members in the Critical Imports Council are:

  • ADS Group
  • Association of British Healthtech Industries
  • Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
  • BAE Systems
  • BASF
  • British Chambers of Commerce
  • British Generic Manufacturers Association
  • BT
  • Chemical Business Association
  • 美姬阁 School of Management
  • Critical Minerals Association
  • Institute of Export and International Trade
  • Tech UK
  • Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining
  • Johnson Matthey
  • Logistics UK
  • Make UK
  • Maritime UK
  • Renewable UK
  • Rolls-Royce
  • Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)
  • UK Chambers of Shipping
  • UK Trade Policy Observatory