KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 28, 2021

Global supply chain issues took center stage when a panel of economic, cultural, and diplomatic leaders visited Kennesaw State University to speak with students about Greece’s influence on the global economy.

The panel, titled “Greek Economy, Import/Export, and Sustainable Business Models,” was part of Kennesaw State’s Year of Greece, a study of Greek history, politics, and culture running throughout the 2021-2022 academic year. Marketing lecturer Michael Serkedakis assembled the panel working with Kennesaw State’s Division of Global Affairs and the Michael J. Coles College of Business’s Department of Marketing and Professional Sales. Topics discussed include energy policy, the recent U.S.-Greece defense pact, and shipping challenges plaguing the importing/exporting industries.

“We are in the middle of a real tough moment,” said panelist Mary Waters, Deputy Commissioner for International Trade at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Importers currently face difficulty getting goods from Greece – or any foreign country – on store shelves. Production slowdowns and worker shortages have led to extreme bottlenecks in the supply chain.

“We are increasing capacity at the Port of Savannah, but that doesn’t help when shipping containers are stacked five high because customers aren’t picking up their shipments,” Waters said. “We just have to work our way through this moment.”

Other panelists included Endy D. Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council; Theodoros Dimopoulos, Consul of Greece in Atlanta; and Ted Diamantis, president of Chicago-based Diamond Wine Importers.

Diamantis’ business imports Greek Wine into the U.S. To combat the current conditions, he has extended his quoted delivery timeline from four weeks to eight, but that has not been enough to compensate for his 400 percent increase in shipping costs. Those will ultimately hit the consumer.

“As an importer, we’ve been trying to delay price increases to see if the market naturally corrects, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen,” Diamantis said. “We’re all going to see big price increases in everything during the next six months.”

In addition to discussing importing challenges, the panelists focused on the need to fight climate change to maintain political and economic stability, an issue which was incorporated into the recently renewed defense pact between the U.S. and Greece.

“There is a political will, the technology is there, and there is an urgent need," Zemenides said. "Sustainability is a number one priority in Greece.”

Dimopoulos added, “The time for innovation and the time for sustainability is now."

Kennesaw State Marketing Professor Jennifer Hutchins moderated the panel. She, along with Serkedakis and co-planner Tyra Burton, hope students left the event with a greater appreciation for the complexities of the global supply chain.

“It’s very easy for students learning about markets and supply chains to only focus on what happens in their backyard,” Hutchins said. “Events like this and others planned for the Year of Greece show them how interconnected everything is.”

The Coles College will partner with the DGA again on a Year of Greece event on Feb. 17 when Serkedakis and his planning committee will offer a culinary event featuring a discussion about Greece’s impact on Atlanta’s restaurant business.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity to bring programming to Kennesaw State students that demonstrates the immense cultural and economic influence Greece has – and continues to have – on the rest of the world,” Serkedakis said.

See the full schedule of Year of Greece events.

-Patrick Harbin