As U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium from Canada, Mexico and the European Union went into force last week, Brian Alster, global head of supply and compliance at Dun & Bradstreet, said businesses should be proactively looking at their supply chains and making moves to geographically diversify them.
Speaking to Supply Management, Alster said: “First and foremost diversity is key. You need to make sure you understand where the manufacturing of your goods and services is being done, what the shipping routes and lanes are and making sure you are taking that into account when you’re determining your go-to-market strategy.
“If at all possible it is best to diversify geographically and to make sure that a shock to the system, whether it be geopolitical or a natural disaster, can be overcome without having any delays.”
Businesses should also ensure they have a “formidable” onboarding process that takes into account geopolitical risk and invest in the continuous monitoring of suppliers, including an “offboarding” plan for when the risk a supplier carries outweighs their contribution.
