Twenty-five years ago this month the Union of Concerned Scientists published what they hoped would be a game-changing wake-up call to the world.

Chief Supply Chain Officers are still a fairly new phenomenon. Compared to more established C-level roles such as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer, the idea of a board-level executive in charge of all source, make and deliver functions remains novel.

As we sift through data from SCM World's 2017 Future of Supply Chain survey, one of the most striking shifts from last year's responses is the level of perceived risk in areas outside of our traditional span of control. The biggest jumps from 2016 are in the percentage of respondents who report being "very concerned" about data security, natural disaster and war.