A companys best protection from its own supply chain is to expect failure, not to hide from it. Toyota last year narrowly escaped a parts shortage when an American supplier went bankrupt. The carmaker has now introduced an early warning system in Europe to try to detect any looming problems with suppliers before they bring production lines to a halt.
The good news is that many companies are now trying to identify the choke points and weak links in their supply chains. What about Sir Georges concern-the wider threat to national economies? With so many people worrying about oil supplies and a birdflu pandemic, the prospect of supply chains collapsing around the world can seem a scary idea.
It shouldnt be. There are a few industries where it makes sense for governments to keep some emergency stocks of a few essentials such as energy, munitions and medicines. But the logistical apocalypse is not a good way for politicians to think about everyday life, let alone to start interfering in markets.
Natural disasters are not, in fact, a common cause of supply chain disruptions. Most are the result of humdrum internal problems, like bad planning or the choice of an unreliable subcontractor. That can be terrible for a particular company, but hardly poses a threat to society at large. After all, if Ericsson and Nokia cannot supply you with a mobile phone, Samsung would be only too happy to get one to you tomorrow.
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