Please study the articles below 1 and 2 (on U.S. supply chain crisis in 2021 and COVID-19 impact on businesses) and choose one specific corporation & business at your choice from the most unstable industries in the U.S., due to corona virus impact and discuss the following topics (please do a brief research using external internet resources)

-Company products & services

-Supply chain crisis impact in 2021 (see the article below)

-The impact on sales or revenue or profit for this corporation of the corona virus effect on customers, supply chain, operation & employees, distribution, shelter in place government & state decision.

-What should you decide on inventory management (Anticipation inventory or Seasonal Inventory and safety inventory) as an operations manager for this company

-How can you reduce the inventory cost and Total cost minimization.

-Operations Strategies that your recommend for this business & corporation in this difficult situation of the economy

Music

Major music festivals, including SXSW and Coachella, have been postponed or canceled, as have concerts from the likes of Madonna and Pearl Jam. Promoters and artists are both feeling the fallout, with no real way to predict when live concerts can resume.

Analysts predict the music industry may lose $5 billion as a result of the coronavirus, due to lost concert revenue, cancellation costs, other legal costs and rearrangement fees, Forbes reported.

Oil and Gas

As of March 30, oil prices had fallen to their lowest point in 17 years as a result of both the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a decrease in demand.

The world is facing a hugely deflationary shock, ANZ Researchs Kishti Sen said in a note, as reported by CNBC. The WTI oil price has dropped from $60 in January to around $20. Demand for many goods has plummeted, as economic activity has gone into stasis. The deepening pandemic and reduced appetite for crude oil by refiners sent the oil price into a tailspin.

Low prices could lead to bankruptcies, especially for smaller companies that rely on higher oil prices to remain profitable, NPR reported. It could also mean fewer shifts for oil workers.

OHIO CASE, Marathon Oil Corporation in November 2020

Marathon Petroleum Corp. lost $1 billion during the third quarter of 2020 as the company continued to face challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite some recovery during the summer months, global demand for the Findlay, Ohio-based companys products and services remained lower than normal, executives said during a conference call with investors Monday,November 2020.

Marathons refining and marketing segment lost $1.6 billion during the quarter, but the companys midstream business made $960 million, up 4% from the same quarter a year ago.

The midstream results primarily reflected the business of MPLX, a partnership that counts among its assets pipelines and processing plants in the Utica and Marcellus shale regions.

Marathon posted a $1.1 billion profit during the same quarter just a year ago.

• The company said it was on target to cut more than $1.4 billion in capital spending and reduce operating expenses by more than $950 million, and had already undertaken its previously announced plan to cut 2,050 jobs, or 12% of its workforce, across the country.
• Marathon also announced it had started a renewable diesel plant in Dickinson, North Dakota, and planned to convert its idle Martinez, California, refinery to make renewable diesel.
• The company said it planned to finalize its $21 billion sale of its Speedway stores to 7-Eleven during the first quarter of 2021.

Marathon Petroleum operates 16 refineries that can process a combined 3 million barrels of crude oil a day. One of those refineries is in Canto

Real Estate

Much of the traditional real estate business involves lots of person-to-person interaction, so the coronavirus has thrown a wrench into business-as-usual. Brokers, buyers and sellers are all struggling as open houses are being eliminated or moved to digital platforms, The New York Times reported.

Restaurants and Food Service

Shutdowns across cities and states have led to a mass of sudden restaurant closures. Now, many restaurants are on the verge of collapse and 15.6 million restaurant workers are facing job loss or reduction of hours, NPR reported.

The coronavirus epidemic, its unchartered territory for us, Sean Kennedy, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association, told the public radio station.

In addition to restaurant workers losing jobs, its also likely that many restaurant owners wont be able to recover from the closures as many already run on very thin margins, Today reported.

Retail

Macys, Nordstrom, Nike and Apple have all closed their U.S. stores, and Simon, the countrys largest mall operator, closed over 200 of its shopping centers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported.

Retail is the nations largest private-sector employer, supporting 52 million jobs overall, Matt Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, told CO, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce blog. While select retailers are not seeing diminished sales warehouse clubs, grocery and drug stores as consumers stock up on essential items, others are struggling.

Online shopping has increased, but its unclear if and when overall consumer spending will bounce back. Decreased spending means that some retailers wont be able to meet loan obligations. And it also means job loss for people working in the retail sector. For example, Macys has furloughed 125,000 employees as a result of the coronavirus shutdown, The Washington Post reported.

Shipping

Global supply chain interruptions that started in China have now led to a crisis for container ship operators. Theres less product to move, so as a result, vessels are being idled and scheduled trips have been canceled, NPR reported.

For the periods of late February, March and April, you could be talking anywhere from 15% to 30% of the freight that normally flows in and out of this country will not be happening, John Reinhart, CEO of the Port of Virginia, told the radio station.

This means a reduction of hours for drivers of these ships, as well as for workers at the ports, and other workers whose business relies on the shipping industry.

Sports

International sports had been a booming business for years, but the coronavirus has stopped the industrys economic climb dead in its tracks. The cancellation of March Madness has caused the NCAA to reduce its annual distribution to member institutions by nearly two-thirds from $600 million to $225 million while amateur U.S. sports could lose around $800 million due to the delay of the Summer Olympics, The Wall Street Journal reported. NBA players are confined to working out in their homes as gyms and arenas are closed, and MLB players face a shutdown of unpredictable length.

The abrupt pause on professional sports will lead to major losses for team owners, as well as for the networks that broadcast the games. Media analyst Michael Nathanson forecast that if the NBA were to shut down the season and cancel the playoffs, it would cost ESPN and ABC $481 million and TNT $211 million in lost ad revenue, according to The Wall Street Journal.

There are also losses from ticket sales, merchandise sales, food and parking fees, and millions of dollars in lost wages for arena workers, FiveThirtyEight reported.

Technology

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the tech industry in numerous ways. For starters, it has caused major supply chain delays for companies like Apple, which manufactures many of its iPhones in China. As a result, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has lowered his iPhone shipment forecast by 10% for the first quarter of 2020, MacRumors reported. Its also caused the cancellation of major tech conferences, including the Mobile World Congress and Facebooks Global Marketing Summit. The direct economic losses from the cancellation of major tech events will total $1.1 billion, according to estimates by data intelligence company PredictHQ, Recode reported.

Theme Parks

Disney has closed its U.S. theme parks amid the coronavirus outbreak, and the combination of closures plus a dip in attendance due to a likely recession following the closures means that the parks could face a $3.4 billion revenue loss, an analyst report from research firm MoffettNathanson found, according to The Orange County Register.

Meanwhile, SeaWorld announced on March 27 that it will furlough 90% of its workers without compensation beginning April 1, ClickOrlando.com reported. The move comes after the theme parks parent company temporarily shuttered all of its theme parks in California, Florida, Texas and Virginia. The closure of SeaWorlds U.S. parks could cost the company $233 million in lost revenue in 2020, according to a J.P.Morgan analysts report, the Daily Bulletin reported.

Other theme parks have also closed temporarily, including Universal Orlando Resort, Business Insider reported.

Trucking

The demand for trucking is at a low as the coronavirus spreads, Business Insider reported. Although there is a need for truckers to move retail products, those that haul products from other sectors, including automobile and oil, have seen their demand decrease.

A March 11 Morgan Stanley survey of 350 freight-transportation stakeholders found that 80% said the coronavirus is affecting their business. There are 1.8 million truck drivers in America, many of whom are self-employed, so they are hit especially hard when they dont have jobs to do.