This generation’s most catastrophic risk event, the coronavirus pandemic has made everyone acutely aware of risks to a company’s health. In the aftermath, several things need to be done.

First, more use-case articles and white papers need to be written by exemplar companies — companies that are exercising best practices to manage supply-chain risks. These need to include hard performance measures. 

Second, the U.S. government needs to continue its push for more focus on supply-chain risk management with additional grants to demonstrate the return on investment of building out an end-to-end, integrated approach to supply-chain risk management. 

Third, the industry needs more courses, workshops and classes culminating in more certificates and certifications from universities and professional education organizations. 

Fourth, standards organizations such as NIST, ISO, ASCM, ISM, ASIS and others should update and develop new standards. 

And finally, more software-as-a-service risk management solutions should enter the market to integrate visibility and other elements of supply-chain risk management best practices across the enterprise.

Coaxing exemplar companies to articulate what they do and the benefits derived from implementing supply-chain risk management may be challenging: Many have considered these best practices a strategic advantage and are hesitant to share. Another challenge is education for the masses. Just as supply-chain management grew from its infancy in the 1970s, risk management must expand its footprint of education across all industry sectors and organizations of all sizes. 

Funding remains a challenge, too. This is where government programs might contribute to the cause through more grants to build out proof-of-concepts. Private funding and capital can help build out more robust software that can scale the fundamentals of supply-chain risk management, and connect the dots from suppliers to customers and everyone in between. 

Outlook

In the next three years, look for more companies to join the supply-chain risk management journey. As more companies become educated and engaged, new best practices will emerge — as well as more resilient enterprises around the world.

Gregory Schlegel is founder of The Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium.