It has been two weeks since the deadly tsunami that wiped out villages along the North coast of Japan. The devastation is so severe, that even if all the finance borrowing options in business for Japan that are needed were available tomorrow, some experts believe it will still take at least five years to rebuild. Not only were homes and businesses washed away, but the infrastructure that supported them was completely destroyed in some areas. Large automotive companies that are known world-wide like Nissan and Toyota have had their operations completely disrupted and the supply chain that send out cars and parts to dealership also interrupted. Other types of businesses that sold computer chips or electronics are also facing the same dilemma: nothing being exported in time to meet manufacturing demands.

A Long Way to Japan

What has once been the marvel of modern distribution systems is starting to show some obvious weaknesses. The most important problem at hand is the distance between Japan and the distributors who are selling the goods and services. With ports being obliterated in Japan due to the tsunami, shipping also has been disrupted. Goods are not being transported and even if they were the items would be minimal due to a loss of operations. The solution, for some companies like Nissan, may be to go back to a model where manufacturing is closer to the points of distribution. In other words, Nissan is considering bringing some plants back into the United States, where it does have some presence already.

Market Intricacies

Interdependence on basics like black or red paint made in Japan that is no longer available is causing some distributors to be unable to take orders for cars in these colors for a while. Semiconductor manufacturing may end up in various products that will find the supply chain broken when those goods no longer are available. It is hard to tell exactly what areas of the market will be most affected and which companies will be able to adapt to changing supply chain problems in ways that make them step ahead of others who do not take a proactive approach.

Opportunities Increase for Entrepreneurs

Japan’s supply chain problems will increase opportunities for U.S. based entrepreneurs who can step into the broken chain and offer a similar product locally at a competitive cost. While this is bad news for Japanese companies struggling to get back on their feet, it is the way the free market is supposed to work. Otherwise, if companies that depend on a particular part are forced to wait until the Japanese can manufacture it again in volume, they could end up losing sales. That is probably part of the reason that Japanese companies like Nissan are quickly moving back to the United States to protect their interests as it becomes obvious that a broken supply chain will lead to market opportunists who can grab business from them. It may take Japan years to recover from the tsunami, but it is likely that within just a year, the business in the United States will have already developed new strategies to keep their dealerships open and business running, even if some parts never come out of Japan again.