Logistics Management: Reflect BP oil spill relates global supply chain; examine current transportation economic situations 2010 BP oil spill Gulf Mexico internet exercise discussion board. BP Oil spill

The supply chain of BP was immediately taxed by the unexpected magnitude of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill: the ramifications for the company were seismic: "The supply chain challenge was the near and offshore response…The [BP] team had to buy everything from mealworms to feed wounded birds, to booms (that float in the water and stop further spread of oil), to dispersant and sorbent materials to remove the waste. A total of 6,500 vessels were used in the cleanup and as of the end of 2011, BP had spent $14 billion (£8.6 billion) on its response" (Ellinor 2012). BP had practiced drills to simulated oil spill crises in the past, but a number of unexpected supply chain snafus arose. For example, none of the needed products were available...

There were only 300,000 gallons of dispersants available globally at any one time: to contain the spill, it was realized, required in 50,000 a day. Suppliers were accustomed to only making 500 gallons and could not keep up with demand both in terms of production and also transporting the needed materials to the Gulf (Ellinor 2012).
The effects on the global supply chain as a whole were also unprecedented. The Gulf supplies anywhere from 50% to more than 70% of the seafood in the U.S." (Oil spill will strain the financial supply chain too, 2010, GX Blogs). The wildlife damaged in the spill not only hurt consumers who eat fish and fishermen directly involved in the industry but also restaurants and food businesses which depended upon availability of seafood, spanning from canned tuna to pet food to fish oil supplements. While there are other supplier of fish, shifting sourcing can be costly and…