In this age of international uncertainty, supply chain professionals would do well to be prepared for the unexpected. Manmade catastrophes, such as terrorist attacks and anthrax scares, are not the only concerns. Natural disasters - tornadoes, floods, storms and the like - can also cause disruption to the supply chain. Other unforeseen events, such as supplier bankruptcies and striking workers, also leave companies vulnerable.

"Almost everybody's supply chain can be affected indirectly by the unexpected, especially if they work on a global nature," says Jim Rice, director of The Integrated Supply Chain Management Program at MIT's Center for Transportation and Logistics. Rice spoke recently to a New England Roundtable seminar sponsored by the Council of Logistics Management.

"The majority of companies are not taking very significant actions to protect their supply chains," he says. "Those who do are firms that have been affected before. They understand the risk they are at if they don't have a resilient supply chain."

Rice emphasizes that an event anywhere within a company's entire supply chain can leave a lasting effect. For instance, a ten-minute fire at a phone chip supplier in New Mexico destroyed a month's worth of chip inventory for cell phone manufacturers worldwide.

"Some distant party can affect your supply chain. You have to look at risk within your entire supply network," Rice says. He suggests that companies work aggressively with their suppliers. "They should staple themselves to their deliveries," he says, urging that they follow products and materials throughout the supply network to understand where the vulnerabilities exist and which suppliers will be limited by capacity constraints.

Some firms may find they have to carry additional inventory, add additional suppliers, or possibly change suppliers if they discover that current channels cannot be resilient enough. Rice suggests that companies run supply chain drills that simulate what would happen if a portion of the chain were compromised. That includes developing contingency plans and creating emergency centers that can be quickly put into operation when the unexpected happens.