2023 Supply Chain Insights: Part 3: Reducing the pressure
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April 13, 2023 - BSI’s recent Supply Chain Risk Insights Report provides insight into the global impacts surrounding supply-chain vulnerabilities and recommends implementing strategies that will help organizations prevent and adapt to challenges in 2023. In part two of this series, Mark Brown, Global Managing Director, Digital Trust Consulting, BSI reveals why cyber resilience in the digital supply chain must become a top priority for organizations. Now, in part three, we’ll walk through processes to implement within your organization’s supply chain that will help ease the pressures of global uncertainty and keep business thriving.
As we settle into 2023, tensions from last year are showing no signs of slowing down. Pressures are mounting from all angles, with a multitude of uncertainties from climate change to geopolitical unrest. Fearful organizations are displaying signals of ”brake pumping,” but to succeed, they must adapt to a changing environment.
Let’s look at some tips, tools, and processes that organizations can implement into their strategies to reduce the strain of the current global environment.
Develop stronger self-knowledge of your supply chain
Strong leadership teams who prioritize building greater self-knowledge of their environment are better positioned to recognize and tackle global challenges. These organizations understand how to adapt their supply chains in the face of an evolving security, technology, and sustainability landscape. In learning the broader picture, organizations understand that they cannot work at 100% without prioritizing and investing in helping their suppliers become more resilient rather than emphasizing their own business fortunes. In turn, this reduces pressure by giving employees breathing space and more confidence, resulting in a more sustainable and resilient workforce.
Build a sustainable supply chain
A sustainable supply chain starts with prioritizing people and ensuring their safety, fair treatment, and opportunity to thrive. If employees are constantly under the threat of human-rights violations, it contributes to geopolitical pressure, leading to greater supply-chain disruptions.
A 2021 report from BoardReady, a non-profit focusing on helping organizations with board diversity, found that between 2018 and 2020, organizations with over 30% of board seats occupied by women delivered higher year-over-year revenue in comparison to less gender-diverse counterparts. Additionally, organizations with the same board seats held by non-white directors saw a 4% revenue growth year on year.
These statistics show that organizations who put diversity and employee wellbeing at the heart of their supply chain see increased growth and therefore enhanced resilience, ultimately leading to an ability to withstand global pressures.
Keep up with the latest regulations
The one certainty amongst the uncertainty is that regulations will continue to change. If organizations want to succeed, it’s critical to stay ahead of the curve. Keeping abreast of changes gives the supply chain more time to plan and implement new processes.
Key pieces of legislation in the U.S. include the Inflation Reduction Act, designed to cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions to levels about 30–40% below 2005 levels by 2030. The Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposed sustainability reporting requirements will extend regulatory pressure around cybersecurity with implications for supply chain risk management.
Next, in part four of our Supply Chain Risk Insights series, Mark Brown, Global Managing Director, Digital Trust Consulting, BSI discusses how embracing innovation can enhance overall supply-chain operations.
Download BSI’s Supply chain risks insights report here and listen to Intelligence Insights & Enhancements: A Preview of the 2023 BSI Supply Chain Insights Report with Jim Yarbrough for a report summary. Register for our OnDemand webinar, BEYOND THE STORM: How organizations can transition from survive to thrive in 2023. Read Sustainable Supply Chain: A People First Approach for more on human rights.
Read Jim Yarbrough’s most recent byline in EPSNews, The What-If Supply Chain is Ready for Anything on how to prepare for problems that seemingly arise from nowhere.
For more BSI insights on other EHS and Digital Trust topics, visit our Experts Corner. For real time updates on top supply chain issues, register for BSI’s Connect SCREEN tool; this platform provides daily analysis on the latest and most relevant global supply chain trends.
