Category Archives: Evolution

In October 2018, WWE presented Evolution, a landmark pay-per-view that featured only womens matches.

The event was a huge success, with fans praising the show as one of the best pay-per-views of the year.

Then 2019 came and went and there was no Evolution 2. Back in October 2019 Triple H explained to Digital Spy why the event didnt happen that year.

"(2019) has been such a transitional year with WWE that in the process of a lot of things happening like the switch to Fox, NXT going to USA, there's been so many crazy things going on, part of the planning process of those things is us not having the bandwidth to do a few of the things that we would have liked to have done this year," he said.

"(Evolution) is still on the table, still up in the air as to what will happen and what will go down. I think it might be a little bit on a delay from when we would have liked to have done it, just because there's only seven days in a week and 24 hours in the day. There's only so much we can accomplish and have it be done correctly. You don't want to half-ass it."

Now in mid-2020, WWE (and the rest of the world) has found itself in unprecedented circumstances with the coronavirus pandemic leading to empty arena shows held in the Performance Center.

The Womens Division has also lost Ronda Rousey, who brought more mainstream attention to WWE, and also now Becky Lynch, who announced her pregnancy in May.

But despite everything, the womens division has been one of the high points of WWE over the past few months.

Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley had one of the best matches at this years WrestleMania, and on weekly television its been Bayley and Sasha Banks who have shone the brightest during the empty arena era.

The storyline between Bayley and Sasha has been one of the most engaging WWE has had in recent months and theyve also produced some of the best matches.

At Extreme Rules Asuka and Sasha had a fantastic match (finish aside) and Sasha proved herself as a ratings draw when she went to NXT earlier this month to face Io Shirai.

And while Sasha, Bayley, Asuka, and Charlotte (though shes currently on hiatus) are leading the womens division, theres also a wealth of female talent in WWE deserving of a bigger spotlight.

Nikki Cross showed what she could really do in the ring when she faced Bayley at Extreme Rules, Naomi has long been deserving of a bigger spotlight, Shayna Baszler is one of most legitimate and unique athletes WWE has, and Sonya Deville has delivered some of the best promos of 2020 and thats just a few examples.

Over on NXT theres names including Io Shirai, Tegan Nox, and Shotzi Blackheart, who are showing that the future of the womens division on Raw and Smackdown is just as bright.

With such an amazing array of female talent in WWE the time seems right for them to pull the trigger on Evolution 2 and frankly, as Bayley said, they should have done it last year.

"I don't know why they didn't do it (last year)," Bayley told Digital Spy earlier this month. "It was such a success the first year and I had such a great time at that show."

Carmella echoed Bayleys sentiment when she told Digital Spy: "I would love to see another one the first one was so much fun and it was groundbreaking, it was just so cool to be a part of it.

"I think finally we're at a point for the women were the things we're doing, its not a big deal anymore, before it was, 'oh my gosh, the women are the main event of SmackDown tonight'.

"And now if the women are the main event, it's not even like we don't even have to discuss it and I think thats just such a cool place to be and Im grateful to be a part of it."

Nia Jax also believes its the right time for another Evolution. "I will never forget the feeling that we had that night, the energy, the empowerment that was going on in the locker room and all of us just cheering each other on," Nia told Digital Spy in June.

"It was incredible, we were able to carry that entire show on our own and I feel as though we're definitely due for another one because new faces are in the mix and I feel like everybody should be able to see what the women are capable of right now."

Of course there is an argument to made about whether the women really need a pay-per-view all to themselves.

Women do now get the chance to main event Raw, Smackdown and pay-per-views. The division has grown so strong that the days of women getting quick matches and short segments on shows are long over.

Speaking to Digital Spy in January, Charlotte Flair explained: "I'm a huge fan of Evolution. But I also think there's something to whether we have an all-female Pay-Per-View or not.

"I'm a firm believer that I want to be on the card with men going, 'I'm going to have the best match.

"So do I want Evolution? Yes, but if it's something that doesn't happen again I'm not opposed to it because I want to go, 'Okay, I had the best match out of any male or female on the roster'."

So what do you think, should WWE hold another Evolution event? Or with the women getting a bigger spotlight week-to-week is an all-female pay-per-view simply not necessary anymore?

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Should WWE hold another all-women's Evolution PPV? - Digital Spy

E

volution Gaming has again been named Live Casino Supplier of the Year at the EGR B2B Awards 2020, in a remarkable unbroken run of 11 wins since the awards began in 2010.

Evolution beat 12 other shortlisted suppliers to win the Live Casino Supplier accolade on day one of the virtual ceremony held on 21 July.

Speaking after the ceremony, Martin Carlesund, Evolution Group CEO commented: The past 12 months have seen Evolution once again push the boundaries of what is possible in Live Casino. In terms of the way Evolution has continued to develop and introduce ground-breaking new products, it has been a most encouraging year and all despite a very challenging global situation brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Carlesund added: "We introduced a record number of 12 new games this year. Our exclusive and unique game show games portfolio continued to grow with new titles such as Mega Ball and Crazy Time becoming immediate player favorites. We also continued to reinvent classic casino games for the next generation of players, with Lightning Baccarat, Speed Blackjack, and Power Blackjack all joining an already varied and entertaining portfolio of both Live and First Person games."

He concluded: "I know I can speak for everyone at Evolution when I say we are extremely proud to have retained this award. Once again, our people have worked tirelessly to extend our position as the number one Live Casino supplier and to deliver an exceptional Live Casino experience for players. Our licensees, meanwhile, have been extremely loyal and always receptive to innovative new ideas that enrich our whole sector. My sincere thanks to everyone."

The rest is here:

Evolution wins 'Live Casino Supplier of the Year' for 11 consecutive years - Yogonet International

When I think of a chalet, my mind goes straight back to the mid-1970s to a bold A-frame design, orange-toned timber, fleece rugs and cheese fondue. Not being a skier myself, the evolution of the chalet from rustic alpine lodge to chic weekend retreat had eluded me until I saw this 2019 project in Thredbo, from Sydneys Briony Fitzgerald Design.

A 2019 project in Thredbo, from Sydneys Briony Fitzgerald Design.Credit:Brigid Arnott

The brief was to create a cosy but elegant space (pictured) for an active and sociable family of five who ski in the winter and mountain-bike and hike during the summer.

The new building has a refined architectural precision, with large windows and an angular design softened by the interior scheme. We responded to the clean lines of the building a dual-level penthouse with handmade tiles, smokey oak veneer joinery, textiles and warm materials such as leather dining chairs and rich velvet upholstery, says Joanna Mitton, senior designer on the project.

The pice de rsistance is undoubtedly the massive, textured living room rug, which is just as much artwork as floor covering. Hand-knotted in Tibet, the rug is tousled and shaggy, like the outside landscape, says Briony Fitzgerald.

More:

The evolution of the chalet: from rustic lodge to chic retreat - Sydney Morning Herald

Plaza Midwoods post office isnt moving, like many old pieces of the neighborhood have in the past few years. But it will soon look much different. The two-story brick building across from Harris Teeter will become four stories, and it will have a sleek new facade and 19,000 square feet of space available for new office and retail tenants.

The building, at 1233 The Plaza, was constructed in 1957 and housed a furniture store in its early days. For years, the second level has sat empty, even as property values skyrocketed in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.

Early last year, the property changed hands. Property records show that the longtime owner, Perry Brothers Investments, LLC, sold the sold the building in January 2019 for $3.4 million to a real estate investment company, Sors, LLC.

The adaptive reuse project will give the property a fresh look, says Sink Kimmel of the The Selwyn Property Group, the local firm handling the leasing. Steel framing will go up around the existing structure, and crews will add third and fourth floors, each roughly 6,500 square feet. The property will have 33 parking spaces. The post office will remain on the ground floor, and its open during construction.

Plaza Midwood doesnt have a huge number of office tenants like other booming neighborhoods such as South End do. Thats why this building could be a good fit for office users, but Kimmels group is looking for retailers, too.

The top floor could make for a very cool evening oriented restaurant/bar/entertainment venue, Kimmel says. It just all depends on demand.

The makeover of the old post office building comes amid a rapid evolution of Plaza Midwood, a neighborhood long known for its character and affection for small local businesses.

Down the street, developer Crosland Southeast plans to overhaul the 12-acre Central Square property to make way for apartments, green space, offices, and retail buildings. The Midwood Corners property, home to tenants like Ritas and a used book store, will eventually be redeveloped. Asana Partners is renovating an old antique store on Central to make way for new restaurant and retail tenants. The family-run development group that built the Franklin Hotel in Chapel Hill is planning an independent hotel on Central where Kickstand Burger Bar used to be.

Plaza Midwood is just going bonkers, Kimmel says.

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Plaza Midwood's evolution continues with the transformation of the old post office building - Charlotte Agenda

Second-wave feminism is often misconstrued as an American-centric movement, yet its ideals of emancipation spread far wider and deeper. This is particularly true of Yugoslavia, where the 1970s and 1980s saw many female activists and artists ignite a necessary dialogue on womens place within socialist society.

One of the first and most prominent figures of Yugoslavian feminism was artist Sanja Ivekovi, whose work pertains to the complexities of patriarchal consumerism, beauty ideals, and nationalism, and has relevance far beyond the Yugoslav context.

Ivekovi was born in Zagreb in 1949 and studied fine art at the citys academy, graduating in 1971. She went on to begin her career as an artist, joining the post-1968 generation of Yugoslav artists who benefitted from more artistic freedom than their more eastern neighbours, allowing a more feminist critical commentary to flourish although there will still limits.

For Ivekovi, the personal is political, and themes of gender roles and identity were at the forefront of much of her work. Yet feminism occupied an entirely different space within the Yugoslav context when compared with the west, particularly the US.

For some historians, what is known as the double burden, the role of having to be both the housewife and have a career, become a triple burden with the addition of being a socialist participant in the state. To make matters worse, under socialism, everyone was perceived as equal, regardless of whether they really were, hence movements like feminism were seen by the state as redundant.

And while Yugoslavia was progressive in terms of education, abortion, and divorce rights, misogyny still penetrated deeply in society. In some ways, the blindness to this oppression actually accentuated it.

Women were not sufficiently represented in politics and the state failed to accommodate basic needs. Author Slavenka Drakuli vividly illustrates this in her novel, How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, as she remembers how period products such as tampons were not provided for, which is especially ironic for a socialist state. In the seventy years of its existence it couldnt fulfill the basic needs of half the population, she writes.

Moreover, while many feminists in the west saw products like make-up and high-heels as oppressive measures to fulfill patriarchal beauty standards, their shortage in Yugoslavia made them a means of expression.

When Ms Drakuli met with western European feminists in 1978, she recalls:we thought they were too radicalwhen they talked about wearing high-heeled shoes as a sign of womens subordination. I remember how we gossiped about their greasy hair, no bra, no make-up.

Interestingly, this highlights the shortcomings of western feminism at the time, that failed to account for the multiplicity of womens struggles. Many western feminists looked down on the socialist movement, yet this west-east misreading highlights its complexities and the failure of the west to concede that women can both appeal to conventional beauty standards and be unconventionally feminist.

Nevertheless, there were of course universalities. Consumerist mentalities were seeping into Yugoslavia too, where beauty standards were sold through the manufacturing of womens flaws.

Ivekovis, 1976 work instructions no.1 or instrukcije br. 1, deconstructed this phenomenon. In her short film, Ivekovi stares into the camera and methodically draws arrows on her face in black ink, evocative of pre-plastic surgery markings. In doing so, she mocks the how-to nature of advertisements, refuting make-ups ritualistic application. Here, the markings become a kind of war-paint against unrealistic beauty ideals where the face has been turned into an instruction manual, a thing to that must be bettered. At the end of the video, she rubs these markings in, making her face dirty and distorted, an ironic reflection of the markings of beauty expectations communicated against the iconography of women in advertising.

Here, the marketing of beauty products, that is only successful through point out flaws is reflected. Instead, the marketing and pressure itself becomes a flaw.

Ironically, the idea of adhering to these beauty standards, as sold by consumerism in Yugoslavia became a damned if you do, damned if you dont situation, and arguably still is globally.

In much of Ivekovis work, she places herself within the art, a powerful mechanism for commentary. As explained by art historian Jo Anne Isaak, critical distance can lead to a sense of complicity within patriarchal relations, rather than a refusal of. Instead, when the artist makes herself the subject, she explores the complexities of gender roles from an internal perspective, where she is not waving, but drowning. Rather than denouncing the models from the outside, she denounces the constructs from within.

After the fall of Yugoslavia, the wars of the 1990s steered women towards nation-building, where their role was subsumed within a broader nationalist narrative. Further moves towards more conservative governments instilled a guilt around the socialists progressive policies, and things like abortion rights were partially rolled back. Ironically, capitalisms full incorporation within the former Yugoslavia worked in reverse for many women.

Ultimately, whether socialism tried to erase the need for feminism, or capitalism tried to control and restrict it to consumerism and exploitation, both fell short of achieving womens emancipation. Despite ideologies saying that issues will melt away when they are fully achieved, this cannot happen if the ideologies never account for minorities in the first place.

In her later years, Ivekovis feminism has taken on a broader and more all-encompassing form, where these minorities go beyond the feminine. In an interview with MOMA, she expresses that feminism and its surrounding discourse, her art included, needs to move beyond dealing with just women. Instead, intersectionality is key. In my work, I have always wanted to deal with real problems in society, no matter whether they are about the position of women or the Roma people, marginalised workers and all the other others. I always try to critically reflect my own position, my role in the art system as well as what happens to me as a citizen, she explains.

I think that the strength of the artistic act is not only to reflect social reality but to actively participate in the creation of the collective and social imaginary. It is the role of the artist to find each time a new model to deal with the difficult issues, one which enables the viewer to reflect upon contemporary society and to rethink his or her place in it.

This approach is reflected in her 2002 collaborative work with the family planning group Womens House, Sunglasses. The work still deeply criticises advertising imagery, yet takes on an additional pertinence. Using Prada advertisements of sunglasses, images of models are appropriated with small pieces of text that recount a name and personal details of domestic abuse. In doing so, the original advertisement image takes on an entirely different role, where sunglasses are no longer a fashion accessory, but expose the societal disregard for gender violence, playing on what is seen and what is hidden.

It is artists like Ivekovi, whose work dissects the grit and depths of the patriarchy, that make the continuation of feminism possible, and one that moves with the times, both in the former Yugoslavia, and more broadly. As third-wave feminism highlights the western shortfalls of a white, middle-class movement, work that challenges the beauty norm for all its intersectional lacunas is paramount.

Top photo:Sanja Ivekovi in 2002, photographed by Franois Besch.

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Sanja Ivekovi and the evolution of Yugoslav feminism - Emerging Europe

For the aviation industry to substantially reduce or eliminate its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, it will take a revolution in aircraft propulsion technology. However, near-term reductions in airliner emissions will likely take a more evolutionary approach that relies on augmenting existing technologies.

That is the conclusion reached by a group of aerospace technology experts brought together by FlightGlobal during the FIA Connect virtual Farnborough air show. The webinar was presented in association with Raytheon Technologies.

Reducing CO2 emissions will not be done witheither/or choices, saysFrank Preli,Pratt & Whitney vice-president for propulsion and materials.There are, says Preli, near-term options for improving emissions and these need to be pursued.

He notes that evolutionary changes to jet engines have reduced fuel burn 70% since the days of the Boeing 707. Longer term, he says, more revolutionary solutions involving new fuels including hydrogen and combustion cycles may prove effective, but they are inherently higher risk if they require a new way of integrating the powerplant with the aircraft or demand dedicated infrastructure, so will only come to fruition with more commitment from more parties.

MikeMekhiche,Rolls-Royces deputy director for electrics, agrees. He stresses: Its going to take both.

On the progression to sustainable flying, hydrocarbon fuels will remain predominant for the foreseeable future, so it is critical that Rolls-Royce and other industry leaders continue working to improve todays principal technology, saysMekhiche.

But, he notes, alternative fuels are already in testing, and a medium-term approach to the emissions issue is to increase the proportion of alternative fuels in the mix with standard jet fuel.

Lastly, he says, will come electrification - which will be the revolution.

Still, there could be another approach, says Gene Holloway, chief sustainability officer at supersonic business jet developer Aerion. His companys plan is to be carbon neutral: We see it as a counterbalancing.

Aerion intends to offset emissions from its aircraft by seeking reductions elsewhere, including through a focus on carbon capture and storage. Holloway points to Aerions recent tie-up with Carbon Engineering, a Canadian company developing a synthetic fuel derived from CO2 pulled out of the atmosphere.

CO2 removed from the atmosphere could either be turned into jet fuel or, notes Holloway, it could simply be stored, offsetting CO2 generated by combustion of standard hydrocarbon fuel. But ultimately, he says, Aerions 30- to 40-year strategic plan is to move away from hydrocarbons and to fly on 100% synthetic fuel.

Henrik Runnemalm, vice president of engine systems at GKN Aerospace Engine Systems, adds that the quandary faced by aerospace companies is to deliver solutions which are effective, safe, competitive and socially acceptable - all at once. We see that impact right now, we are affected heavily by whats happening around us. Thats an element we also have to bear with us as we come up with solutions.

Experts agree the industrys ultimate goal is to develop large, electric-powered commercial jets.

But getting there will require the sector pursue two tracks: developing small, all-electric aircraft, while also equipping turbine-powered airliners with additional electric systems.

Theres two parallel paths, says R-Rs Mekhiche. Theres the all-electric path and theres the hybrid path.

Developing small all-electric aircraft perhaps passenger-carrying vertical take-off and landing types, or small fixed-wing designs will de-risk and prepare electric technologies for broader application, he says.

Such aircraft will help establish a global model to sustain those products in the field and demonstrate value, Mekhiche adds.

Meanwhile, aerospace companies can increasingly equip big jets with additional electric systems the hybrid approach.

Such systems can include second power sources to supplement turbofans. Or, making a more-electric engine that then provides enough electric power to electrify secondary functions such as environmental control systems, Mekhiche says. Working these two in parallel is key.

P&W has studied similar improvements.What if I put a motor generator on each spool? says P&WsPreli. I can start to alter how I operate that engine, to either make it more efficient, or to give it better surge margin, or to reduce some of the complexity in the compressor.

Several of the experts believe smaller companies and start-ups will be prime drivers of next-generation technologies.

You have to have these very disruptive entrants to help upset the apple cart To get to the next stage, says Aerions Holloway.

For an old business, its really important to be open and collaborative with both academics and smaller companies coming [with] new ideas, adds GKNs Runnemalm.

See more here:

Eliminating the aviation industry's CO2 emissions: evolution or revolution? - Flightglobal

Carlo Ancelotti has given a further indication that he is ready to revamp the Everton squad this summer by declaring that there will be an evolution of the club during the close season.

Ancelotti steadied the ship on his arrival on Merseyside during the winter and briefly raised hopes of European qualification. However, results and performances in recent weeks have exposed deeps flaws that remain in the squad.

The impact of Covid-19 and Financial Fair Play may limit just how much Ancelotti can spend in the transfer window, but the Italian insists that things will definitely change for the better.

It will be, for sure, an evolution of the club. Everton wants to make the next step, which is to improve.

We will finish in 11th or 12th this season, but for sure next season we have to go up, there is no other way.

We need better quality, better ambition, better motivation and more passion.

He also confirmed that he would meet with Marcel Brands and the clubs hierarchy to discuss transfer targets next week.

We decided to go to the end of the season and after that, as Ive said a lot of times, we have time to prepare for the new season. We are going to meet next week and make a plan for the future.

Ancelotti was also asked about the impact of Richarlison, who joined the club from Watford two years ago today and scored his 15th goal of the season in the win at Sheffield United earlier this week.

I think in the period Ive been here hes done really well. Of course hes young and has to improve, but he has all the qualities that we need. Hes one of our best players.

The next step is to have more control of the ball, sometimes he loses it too easily. Nothing has to change with his efficiency in the box. He is really good in the box, but he also has to be good outside the box.

Another player who stood out at Bramall Lane was Jarrad Branthwaite, who put in an assured performance in the centre of defence on what was the 18-year-olds first senior start for the club.

Ancelotti has been impressed with how the teenager has adapted to senior football since stepping up to work with the first team.

He has worked with us in the last months and improved a lot. We are really impressed with him, above all how he is able to manage the pressure that he has. His character is good.

Original post:

There will be an evolution at Everton this summer - Ancelotti sets out ambitions - Royal Blue Mersey

Photo: Paining of Stalin in the Joseph Stalin Museum, by Andrew Milligan sumo, via Flick (cropped).

Michael Egnor points out that Totalitarianism Is Darwinism Applied to Politics, citing Hannah Arendts famous book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, which draws the connection. The Nazis, as well as Marx and Engels, all drew from Darwins well.

Jonathan Wells notes that another figure in the totalitarian tradition was influenced by evolution from a very early age. As a boy, Joseph Stalin

talked about books all the time. If he coveted a volume, he was happy to steal it from another schoolboy and run home with it. When he was about thirteen, Lado Ketskhoveli took him to a little bookshop in Gori where he paid a five kopeck subscription and borrowed a book that was probably DarwinsOrigin of Species. Stalin read it all night, forgetting to sleep, until Keke [his mother] found him. Time to go to bed, she said. Go to sleep dawn is breaking. I loved the book so much, Mummy, I couldnt stop reading. As his reading intensified, his piety wavered. One day Soso [Stalin] and some friends, including Grisha Glurjidze, lay on the grass in town talking about the injustice of there being rich and poor when he amazed all of them by suddenly saying, Gods not unjust, he doesnt actually exist. Weve been deceived. If God existed, hed have made the world more just. Soso, how can you say such things? exclaimed Grisha. Ill lend you a book and youll see. He presented Glurjidze with a copy of Darwin.

The idea of an organic movement in history, sketched by Darwin, leads to thinking that seeks to seize control of society and forcibly direct that movement. Arendt needed a thick book to explain why. The case of Stalin, influential reading by a 13-year-old, is much more direct.

Read the original here:

How Darwin Shaped the Young Joseph Stalin - Discovery Institute

With Xbox finally showing off gameplay for Halo Infinite, the sixth mainline entry in the popular first-person shooter franchise, we figured it would be the perfect time to go back and chart the series' evolution. From 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved to 2020's Halo Infinite, the franchise has seen quite a few changes over the years.

In the video above, Persia details those changes over the course of Halo's six mainline entries, throwing in a few words for the franchise's notable spin-offs, Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach. Some of the changes have been narrative driven--Halo 2, for example, introduced a new playable character in the Arbiter. However, some changes were more gameplay-focused, like Halo 3's introduction of split screen co-op in the main campaign.

Halo hasn't merely changed on the campaign side either--it's multiplayer has seen numerous overhauls over the course of the franchise's history. Halo 3: ODST, for instance, introduced a brand-new horde mode called Firefight and dropped dual-wielding altogether. But there have been more transformative changes as well, the most notable of which has to be Forge mode. Not only did Forge mode open up the floor for the community to create its own maps, the addition led to the creation of game types that were so popular that developers Bungie and 343 Industries would go on to recognize them as permanent game modes, like Grifball.

If you're looking to catch up on Halo's story prior to the Holiday 2020 release of Halo Infinite, then your best bet is picking up Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The collection contains Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach, and Halo 4. Other than Halo 5: Guardians, that's every game that Persia talks about in the video above.

Read the original here:

The Evolution Of Halo's Gameplay - GameSpot

The global supply chain, as we know it today, is a manifestation of incremental technological improvements over centuries. The latest of such step changes have stemmed from the widespread adoption of trucking, containerization and computerization beginning in the 1960s. As a result, raw materials, work in progress (WIP), and finished goods could be shipped and delivered around the world at scale, effectively creating an improvement in the so-called holy trinity of supply chain along the dimensions of cost, quality and delivery.

China, with its entry into World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, supercharged the global supply chain by positioning itself as factory to the world with the countrys vast workforce and world-class infrastructure.

For many supply chain specialists who subscribe to the just in time (JIT) manufacturing methodology invented by the Japanese in the 1970s, the way to maximize the holy trinity triangle is through reduction of inventory and WIP. For industries with complex and long value chains, such as automotive and semiconductors, where there is a significant pressure to achieve cost advantage by sourcing materials and ferrying WIP across multiple geographies, unfettered interconnectivity is key to success. However, recent trade tensions between the US and China, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted that this supply chain model is increasingly untenable.

Two changing forces in Asia-Pacific

First, the Asia-Pacific middle class population, already exceeding 1 billion, is forecasted to comprise 66% of the worlds middle class population by 2030. The continued prosperity for this new consumer class will challenge the long-held concept that consumption typically takes place in the West and production relegated to the East. As a result, China, as the largest economy in the region, will continue to have a profound impact on how the global supply chain is restructured.

Second, the current worldwide wave of populism has prompted policy actions to reverse globalization efforts, such as enacting stiff tariffs, the fragmentation of trade blocs, and even the possibility of currency wars. In other words, the low-friction environment the world enjoyed with the movement of physical goods and raw materials across borders can no longer be taken for granted, and is subject to impulsive change.

Reality check for Asia-Pacific supply chain

The latest EY Capital Confidence Barometer report provides a glimpse into how proactive Asia-Pacific executives are in rethinking their supply chains relative to their global counterparts. From the survey, 67% of Asia-Pacific respondents are taking steps to change supply chains compared to 52% of global respondents. The Asia-Pacific cohort is actually ahead in most measures of recovery planning, where:

At first glance, the stance of Asia-Pacific business leaders in making changes to their supply chains appears to conflict with the attitudes of foreign businesses in China, specifically. A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China suggests 84% of survey respondents have no plan to relocate their manufacturing operations out of China, down from 92% in 2017 and 90% in 2018.

The story becomes clearer when probed beyond the initial numbers. For these multinational businesses, their attempt to diversify their supply chain operations actually began several years earlier, as trade tensions between the US and China were heating up. On the other hand, labour cost in China has been increasing steadily thanks to four decades of uninterrupted growth. In fact, China's continued efforts to move up the value chain, combined with a massive domestic consumer market, are the deciding factors for many firms to adopt the China + 1 approach to supply chain management.

The first global pandemic in more than 100 years, COVID-19 has spread throughout the world at an unprecedented speed. At the time of writing, 4.5 million cases have been confirmed and more than 300,000 people have died due to the virus.

As countries seek to recover, some of the more long-term economic, business, environmental, societal and technological challenges and opportunities are just beginning to become visible.

To help all stakeholders communities, governments, businesses and individuals understand the emerging risks and follow-on effects generated by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Marsh and McLennan and Zurich Insurance Group, has launched its COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications - a companion for decision-makers, building on the Forums annual Global Risks Report.

The report reveals that the economic impact of COVID-19 is dominating companies risks perceptions.

Companies are invited to join the Forums work to help manage the identified emerging risks of COVID-19 across industries to shape a better future. Read the full COVID-19 Risks Outlook: A Preliminary Mapping and its Implications report here, and our impact story with further information.

For products and tasks that are labour-intensive and add low value, businesses actively diversify their operations to other regional locations, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Pakistan with garment manufacturing, Vietnam with electronics, and increasingly Thailand and Indonesia with toys. To maintain productivity and profit margins, factories in China have to accelerate their adoption of digital transformation and automation, where production robots, 5G communication links for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, systems software with artificial intelligence, and digital capabilities will play a key role.

The announcement at the National Peoples Congress in late May, where the Chinese government made an additional commitment totaling $1.4 trillion to new technology infrastructure in the next five years, reinforces the notion that China is doubling down on technology to reach its long-term prosperity goal. Sensing the opportunity for an acceleration in tech transformation, neighbouring countries are actively vying for the demand of low-value production left by China. The state of Haryana, for instance, is actively looking to encourage businesses to relocate production to India. Major Korean manufacturers have long established their production of electronic goods in Vietnam. For specialized electronic components such as hard disk drives (HDD), Thailand is already home to more than 70% of all production worldwide.

The new 3Rs for supply chain

The unexpected disruption from the current pandemic, despite its negative consequences, provides an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to act now by assessing business impacts in the near, medium, and long term. In an environment where demand changes rapidly and immediacy is expected, the supply chain of the future must not only continue to focus on cost, quality and delivery, but will also need to be designed with responsiveness, reconfiguration and resilience in mind.

Responsiveness: Systems respond to inputs from the external environment. The supply chain system relies upon inputs such as customer order volume, commodity prices and freight rates to act. Therefore, businesses should appreciate the value of obtaining real-time updates on these inputs by upgrading from the archaic systems that often involve phone calls and fax machines.

Reconfiguration: Diversifying ones supply chain is not as simple as building additional plants in other jurisdictions. It involves revamping and redesigning functions in the system to be more plug-and-play. For example, in the event of future pandemics and extreme events such as the flood in Thailand, could certain business functions like procurement and finance continue their operations from other less, or least affected locations? What are the necessary changes to enable that?

Resilience: Think bigger and be prepared to build resilience from the ground up, starting with organization structure, business processes and performance metrics to future-proof for the next disruptive event. There is no one-size-fits-all for what this looks like, as every business is different.

The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.

Read more:

Why the evolution of supply chains is picking up speed in Asia-Pacific - World Economic Forum