For someone who has been researching and covering supply chain risk for a decade, it's extremely refreshing to see what once were esoteric topics become mainstream, albeit due to avoidable -- and unavoidable, in certain cases -- tragedies that disrupted global supply chains. But the topic has not just hit center stage from a boardroom perspective. It's now mainstream to the point where President Obama is compelled to take action and develop a National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security. For those who have not yet read the announcement, it's worth spending more than the minute or two it takes to scan to really reflect on what it represents that the White House is getting involved in the topic. As far as we are aware, it appears to be the first time that a large government has called out supply chain risk and seeks to tackle the challenge head on -- given its importance to national and global security.

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Here at Spend Matters, we often consider the procurement and business implications of supplier and supply chain risk management. We don't often take the final step in this analysis that would focus on translating disruptions, infractions and related challenges to shareholder metrics. Yet some in the investment community are beginning to consider just how prepared companies are for potential disruptions. Bloomberg recently ran a fascinating story examining how some investors are looking at supply chain sustainability around the impact of water consumption and climate change and public company preparedness. In particular, one investor challenging J.M. Smucker believes that company management isn't taking future access to water in its ingredients markets into account in its financial projections.

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Even though we cover supply chain risk extensively from procurement and supply chain perspectives on Spend Matters, we don't spend much time looking at it from an underwriter or risk manager's point of view. Therefore, you can pretty much guess we'd find an analysis such as this one from Business Insurance quite useful reading. Commenting on recent disruptions in Asia, one source suggests that, "the problem for insurers who provide business interruption cover to Japanese manufacturers is that they have to cover the losses stemming from the Thai flooding because so many businesses moved some or all of their supply chain there." Another insurer is quoted saying that the "slow developing" situation coming of the "Thai catastrophe makes it difficult to get a handle on the extent of losses."

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With a good number of AMR Research analysts having left Gartner following the acquisition and integration of the firm, there's been a void in core supply chain research among the larger shops. There are many small firms and research sources, ranging from Ann Grackin and Bill McBeath at ChainLink to Bob Ferrari at Supply Chain Matters, who have done a commendable job not just filling a void, but providing solid and broad operational coverage in their own right -- and in their own voice. But one firm we don't hear too much about in the supply chain sector is IDC's Manufacturing Insights, which arguably has the most resources behind it besides Gartner. Our sources suggest that much of IDC's focus is on consulting or custom research, which is perhaps why they're not making as big a name for themselves on an influence level as AMR used to. Yet some of the work they're up to -- custom or not -- is certainly insightful, including a recent UPS-sponsored research study examining changes in the Asian supply chain.

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Click here for the first and second posts in this series.

We see our second procurement scenario (out of five) already unfolding, given what's happening in the EU and broader global landscape these days. We've titled this one Beyond Process: Politics, Regulation, Philosophy and Economics Define Procurement's Focus. Consider the current situation with European uncertainty and market volatility. We continue to face jobless recoveries on a global basis with the long-term unemployed not finding work and governmental and personal debts continuing to mount. The only good sign in unemployment numbers appears temporary and seasonal hiring. Austerity programs are hindering even the Queen's lifestyle in the UK, we're told. Within this context, procurement is being asked not only to further revisit cost savings and options, but manage in an environment where working capital is more dear (even when it's not, companies treat it as such today -- a critical distinction given the appearance of often strong balance sheets, but the reality of much greater uncertainty and vault-like controls on spending).

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We often approach the topic of supply risk from a uniquely Western perspective. In other words, we're primarily concerned with how disruptions at different points in the supply chain from supplier bankruptcies, natural disasters or other occurrences can impact our ultimate ability to keep production lines open and customers happy. Yet locally, especially in developing countries like India, supply risk can take on many additional elements. And risk factors can manifest -- becoming disruptions -- more frequently, owing to greater uncertainty and visibility in the overall supply chain and inconsistent levels of infrastructure. Consider a recent article from the Economic Times, an Indian publication that provides some great stories from the supply risk trenches and frontlines in India.

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Click here for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 in this series.

Perhaps the most predictable of all of the industries in terms of the leading sources of supply chain disruption in the latest BCI research study are transportation and storage companies. For these organizations, it's no surprise that "adverse weather (windstorm, flooding, snow, etc.)" tops the list as the leading cause of disruption. "Unplanned outage of IT or telecom systems" takes second and "industrial disputes" come in at third. At least in the US, a fourth factor to consider might be border delays across US and Mexico (and in certain cases, though on a more limited basis, Canada), although one could argue that logistics companies and manufacturers plan for such delays. Still, if there is a surprising item on this for logistics companies it's the danger of not over investing in either an internal or a third party's IT and communications infrastructure.

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Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 in this series.

When I first started writing about supply risk and supply disruptions a decade ago, I placed almost my entire emphasis on the consideration of the topics in manufacturing environments. Yet in industries such as financial services, IT/communications, logistics/transportation and even the public sector, supply chain risk management is just as important. But the causes and types of disruptions are often quite different. Consider financial services, for example, where natural disasters and product quality can have entirely different consequences on the "virtual goods" supply chain. According to BCI's latest analysis of trends in supply chain disruptions, the top three leading sources of disruption were as follows: 1) unplanned outage of IT or telecom systems; 2) adverse weather (windstorm, flooding, snow, etc.); and 3) Cyber attacks (malware, denial of service, etc).

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Like many small businesses, we use QuickBooks Online to manage our general ledger. For a rapidly growing, self-capitalized company completely dependent on cash flow to fund payroll, healthcare costs, OPEX and new hiring, the QB URL has become more than just a general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable and reporting tool -- it's our lifeblood, the pulse of our business. It's a pity then that Intuit in recent weeks has had so many issues keeping the service up and running for subscribers like us. Just this week, we've even had to resort to manually writing checks because we can't access the system. And don't get us started on not being able to invoice customers!

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