Top 5: What Else Could Go Wrong?

Remember back in the day when planners were planners. Late supply only happened because a buyer forgot to place a PO. Your only worry was to make sure your alarm clock was set. Women wanted to be with you, men wanted to be like you. You could plan your way out of anything. Well it wasn’t exactly like that. There were still plenty of issues to deal with when balancing supply and demand but in today’s global supply chains, the unexpected and unusual seems to be more prevalent. I was reading the APICS Operations Management Now article, “The Real Question of Cargo Security.” My first thought was, “what else could go wrong?” In the article Abe Eshkenazi gives an example of cargo theft which in some cases can include “violent hijackings.” The article will certainly get you thinking about risk management and Mr. Eshkenazi also invites you to participate in an extensive practitioner survey to determine how you are applying risk management in your organization. What other risks does your supply chain face? What else could go wrong? In the spirit of the Late Late Supply Chain Show, especially the late part, here are the top 5 responses to “What Else Could Go Wrong?” 5. Cargo Security. Let’s take one from the article that got this list going. 4. Black (and grey) Markets. Here is another form of theft and here comes the quality issues. 3. Terrorist threats. Homeland security, border crossings, and customs issues are only going to get more challenging to deal with. 2. Regulatory delays. FDA, FAA, VUCAT (For explanation, check out this blog post.) 1. Natural disasters. Japan, volcano in Europe, extreme weather conditions, no other explanation required. Would you add any others to this list to get it to a Top 10? Are there other issues you predict will hit hard in the future? Raise some awareness on risk management and let the community know what you think.