Fortifying the future: Procurement’s role in building resilient organizations

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the November 2023 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

November 2023

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the NextGen Supply Chain Awards in Chicago. It was my first time attending the conference, which was in its fifth year, and I came away impressed with both the content and the quality of professionals I met in Chicago. This year’s conference—Strategies for a Digital Future—featured nearly 50 speakers and included CEOs and senior vice presidents, founders and innovators, leading academics and researchers, and top consultants. Over two days of the event at the Chicago Athletic Association, we learned more about artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, robotics and machine learning, fulfillment…

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Organizations operating in today’s rapidly evolving and interconnected global economy face an array of challenges that can disrupt the seamless flow of goods and services within their supply chains. From natural disasters to geopolitical uncertainties, the need to establish resilient supply chains capable of withstanding and swiftly recovering from disruptions has become a strategic imperative.

Companies face significant challenges to enable supply chain resilience

There is a wide range of challenges and risks that can impact an organization’s ability to respond with resilience to disruption. These include operational risks such as equipment failure or labor shortages, financial risks such as currency fluctuations or credit risks, and legal risks such as compliance with regulations and laws.

Building supply chain resilience involves identifying these potential risks and, more importantly, the specific vulnerabilities to implementing measures to mitigate them. Having contingency plans in place to respond to disruptions when they occur is critical. From the top floor to the operating floor, having the necessary strategies, systems, and resources in place to quickly respond to and recover from disruptions is a competitive if not
existential mandate.

Often overlooked is the role procurement plays. Its emergence as a critical driver in building and fortifying organizations against potential vulnerabilities must be a cornerstone for resilience
initiatives and risk mitigation.

The role of procurement (and sourcing) in business continuity and resilience

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