Many companies are ready to make investments to ensure the resiliency of their spply chains in the face of unpredictable events like hurricanes and terrorist attack, but they are struggling to prioritize risk mitigation efforts according to a recent survey from Forrester Group. Forrester interviewed supply chain industry leaders from companies like Dell, HP and United Parcel Service for its report, Best Practices: Successfully Managing Security and Risk in a Global Supply Chain.
Prioritizing is particularly difficult for a supply chain that spans geographic borders, involves multiple transportation modes and crosses many carriers and trading partners because the possibilities for disruption can seem practically infinite, says Patrick Connaughton, lead author of the report. "Because building a contingency plan for every step in the process would be prohibitively expensive, companies are faced with the tough decision of where to place their bets," he says.
Forrester interviews consistently revealed that the key to success is putting in place day-to-day processes that can scale in times of crisis, says Connaughton. The best practices with the highest return are in the areas of network design, creating a state of total situational awareness among partners and providers, and integrating better security measures. The Forrester report lists several tactics to implement and pitfalls to avoid in each of these areas.
http://www.forrester.com