LONDON, May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the global economy struggles to deal with the impact of COVID-19, and turns its attention to post pandemic change, leading experts in finance, retail and fashion announce the launch of a new Foundation to assist businesses and government to save industries and jobs worldwide.

The Sustainable Future Foundation (SFF) aims to drive economic development in the UK, USA and EU by advocating and supporting exemplary sustainable practices across the finance, technology, fashion and retail sectors and advise on supply chain strategies to respond to the new world shaped by the global pandemic.

Speaking at the online launch today, 14th May 2020, co-founder and leading international fashion entrepreneur Masha Hanson said: "SFF was created as a response to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic that has highlighted the need for broader change at many levels and the acute unpreparedness of the global economy to a major shock as well as shortfalls in the existing social and economic paradigms."

SFF's focus is on mapping out how to achieve widespread implementation of leading-edge sustainability throughout global supply chains and, working in partnership with others, will drive large-scale transformation towards high level sustainability and security.

Co-founder and digital transformation leader Asia Tumasian commented: "The COVID-19 pandemic has hit global trade and investment at an unprecedented speed and scale. Businesses of all sizes faced an initial supply shock, then a demand crisis as politicians locked down their populations at home to suppress the virus. Governments, businesses and consumers suddenly struggled to access even basic products and were forced to confront the fragility of the modern supply chain. The urgent need to design smarter, stronger and more diverse supply chains is been one of the main lessons of the crisis and is the rationale behind the launch of SFF."

The Sustainable Future Foundation is a platform that will include experts on virology, epidemiology, viral, public health and disaster response/management who are up to date with COVID 19 related issues, including the latest scientific research on potential treatments, vaccines and government health responses.

As the post COVID world transforms its demand and supply model naturally, there are positive environmental implications associated with this readjustment. Sustainability will no longer be just a trend or a lifestyle choice it will become an economic necessity. For that change to happen SFF calls for government support and clear solutions that could save thousands of jobs and reduce carbon footprint emission.

For months prior to the COVID-19 crisis, trade tensions had been mounting due to the escalating tariff war between Washington and Beijing, and a broader populist streak running through several other capital cities. This rise in protectionism, coupled with concrete costs and new financial barriers, fuelled broader challenges and concerns for logistics networks operating on the global level.

Today's globalized supply chain network has been optimized to identify minimum lead times at the lowest possible price. However, rapid political developments, a shift towards consumers buying niche products and now, a global pandemic have revealed the weakness that lies at the heart of this model of manufacturing.

As a result, the change that had already begun, towards more flexibility and multi-level sourcing, will accelerate tremendously. Over the next years, we can expect to see a broad overhaul of our supply chain infrastructure and a new order based on three key dimensions:

• From globalization to regionalization

Logistics hubs will re-emerge at the regional level as the offshore labour cost differential has reduced. To eliminate single-source dependencies, and to establish a flexible and adaptable supply chain, product integrators, sub-system suppliers and component suppliers will source, assemble and deliver locally.

• Stress testing the logistics

Since the 2008 financial meltdown, regulated financial institutions globally have been forced to stress test their balance sheets to assure preparedness for an economic shock. In addition, large-scale cyber-attacks in the past 10 years have forced technology companies to institute penetration tests to scrutinize their cyber-security mechanisms. In a post-COVID-19 world, supply chain stress tests will become a new norm. The distributed global business model, optimized for minimum cost, is finished. Tomorrow's model demands new priorities in optimization.

• Manual steering and volume flexibility

The human dimension is back, and it will play a prime role in rebalancing the global supply chain during this crisis, and well beyond. We will need visibility for the people in the supply chain to be able to make complex decisions. Toyota's successful principle of "autonomation" involves automating 80-90% of the system but allowing a 10-20% opportunity for human expertise to improve operations.

COVID-19 has revealed the weaknesses of a globalized manufacturing system and in order to respond, SFF believes we need to fundamentally rethink supply chains. Our goals in the medium term should be making them more regional, modifying the supply chain as a key business driver and putting back the human asset as the most important factor for an agile business to succeed.

About Sustainable Future Foundation

SFF was created to advise US, U.K. and EU companies across the fashion, finance, retail and technology sectors on adjusting to the new reality shaped by the global pandemic.

SFF will further develop into a multi skill platform with special scientific advisors in virology, epidemiology, viral, public health adding to the and disaster response and sustainability management capability to advise on post COVID-19 reaction and the likely path of the pandemic. These experts are up to date with Corona-virus related issues, including the latest scientific research on potential treatments/vaccines and government health responses.

They will be able to distil complex scientific concepts to clear, understandable and actionable and sustainable insight for financial institutions, large corporates and governments.

SOURCE Sustainable Future Foundation