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Supply chain
공급망
The chain that runs from raw materials to parts, assembly and delivery, until a product reaches your hands.
Overview
A single product ties together many companies and countries. Where the raw materials are dug up, where the parts are made, where it is assembled and where it is shipped are linked like a chain, and the whole thing is called a supply chain. If one link breaks, everything after it stops.
The supply chain for semiconductors is especially long. Design is concentrated in the United States, equipment in the United States, the Netherlands and Japan, and production in Taiwan and South Korea. In 2021, a shortage of the chips that go into cars stopped car factories around the world. Since then, many countries have been trying to build factories on their own soil.
An everyday example
To roll a sandwich, you need bread, filling, pickles and eggs. If even the pickles do not arrive, the sandwich shop cannot sell sandwiches that day.
Why it matters
When an earthquake, an epidemic or a dispute between countries hits, the news says supply chains are shaken. It is the key to understanding why AI chips are in short supply and why countries are trying to attract chip factories.