Ahhh for the simpler days, when the job of procurement professionals was just to find reliable sources, negotiate the best price, and manage delivery. Today's supply chains demand so much more. Sourcing professionals are expected to predict and mitigate the constellation of risks that have arisen from increasingly globalized sources and supply chain complexities, involving orders of magnitude more players. But we shouldn't complain too much because risks = opportunities. Those who can handle this complexity, who create the agility needed to deal with supply disruptions, and who preemptively alleviate supplier problems, become valuable players within the organization.

Managing supplier risks (non-performance, bankruptcy, etc.) as well as supply risk (industry capacity constraints, disruption of supply, allocation, etc.) has always been a core function of sourcing. However, with globalization and outsourcing, there are so many more things that can go wrong. The management of risk has taken on new dimensions of complexity and criticality, demanding new approaches and methods for mitigating risks.

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