Image via Wikipedia

Weird weather has been causing havoc with business models, and now Thailand gets to figure out how to continue hard drive, microchip, and camera production in the middle of historic floods. The economy is more global, but so is the supply chain of parts and services that companies offer to create a single product. A laptop may be assembled in Asia, but its parts can come from many different places. Thailand is a key manufacturing center for components for laptops that are used by companies in other countries to complete their production lines. This year’s massive flooding, even reaching into heavily populated areas of Bangkok, are causing work stoppages in electronics firms, and affecting the production of laptops around the world.

Winners and Losers

Just like the Japanese tsunami affected car manufacturing processes, it can boost companies that make their cars elsewhere. Market share is lost and won when a weather mishap happens, and some of that share never returns to the losers. It is not just Japanese or Thai companies that bear the brunt of weather disasters. With the globalized workforce, companies like Western Digital who are based in California, have manufacturing centers in Thailand that are now under water. The company has had to cease operations since October 12th. It has previously held the top spot as a hard drive manufacturer, but that’s doubtful to continue now that their facilities are flooded and not operational.

Lost Customers, Vendors, and Shareholders

The cost of a weather calamity does not just affect sales; it also interrupts relationships with its vendors. Vendors will turn to other companies to supply a similar product to their consumer base. The stock market will factor in the bad news and stock shares will lose value. With that loss in value comes further loss of income when shareholders start to pull out or dump their stock. As the world continues to experience freak weather mishaps, it can be vital for companies to have some strategy to avoid being caught without a plan B and at the mercy of Mother Nature’s fickle ways.