Supply chain risk is particularly topical given the present fears over the Corona Virus which is so badly affecting parts of China and, of course, security fears – once again – in the Middle East. If you are interested to explore this topic further, I have a book on the subject – Supply Chain Risk Management – published by Kogan Page.

On 20th June 2014 fire swept through ASOS global distribution centre in Barnsley, UK. The retailer keeps 70% of stock in this warehouse and £30m of inventory was affected. On 24th April 2013 the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed in Bangladesh resulting in 1,134 deaths. The catastrophe caused huge reputational damage to the Western retailers and manufacturers who sourced their fashion goods from this site.

On 12th May 2017 computer screens all over the world were frozen by the Not Petya Ransomware attack. Two major logistics operators – Maersk and FedEx – were badly affected with costs to the companies estimated to be $300m costs each.

What do these diverse events have in common? They are all examples of supply chain risk which can impact on all companies whatever their function and wherever they may be in the world.

By the end of the presentation, my goal is that you will be able to answer the following questions:

• What is Supply Chain Risk and who is affected?
• What are the different types of risk?
• How do you quantify them?
• How and why is risk changing?
• Are supply chains less resilient these days?
• What are the origins of threats?
• What are Black Swan events and why should we be concerned?
• How can supply chains be made more resilient?