Each disruption in global supply chains seems to bring a new surprise. On March 31 of this year, it was an explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Marl, Germany. The incident at the factory of Evonik Industries resulted in the deaths of two workers and caused damage that will take all summer to repair.

In the last year the headlines have been full of news about global supply chains and the disasters affecting them. From the Thai floods to the Japanese tsunami, to the tornadoes in Wichita and the Nylon-12 plant explosion in Germany, several fundamental truths about global supply chains have been made more apparent.