SupplyChainTalk: Improving supply chain risk management with better visibility

On 19 February 2025, SupplyChainTalk host Ana Maria Velica was joined by Pavan Prasad, Senior Director, Consulting, Supply Chain - Pharma & Life Sciences, Genpact; Thomas Panzer, Retired SVP Supply Chain Management – Pharmaceuticals; and Katerina Petta, Senior Manager, Strategy & Operations Consulting, PriceWaterhouseCoopers – Belgium. 

 

Views on news 

The supply chain risk landscape encompasses a variety of challenges, from structural and site-specific risks to geopolitical and climate concerns. Structural risks often arise from single points of failure or concentration risks, where supply chains rely heavily on a few key suppliers. Although visibility is key in managing these risks, many organisations lack comprehensive oversight beyond their immediate suppliers, partly due to reliance on manual data gathering. Clients that put emphasis on managing supply chain risk, generally speaking, see an 8% increase in revenue relative to peers, and a 19% increase in profit, which is further increased by the money saved by avoiding fines and damages. Apparently, in the first weeks of 2025, tariffs have jumped to the top of the list of geopolitical risks. In certain cases, opting for an innovative solution for a sustainable component means that your business may not find alternative suppliers, which can reduce the environmental footprint of the product but also create a single point of failure.  

 

 

New trends in risk management 

Back in 2019, updating risks once a year in a spreadsheet still sufficed. We live now in a much more volatile world. Since then, focus has also shifted from inside the company to the network. Although end-to-end visibility is the ultimate goal, it’s very difficult to see the entirety of your supply chain down to the level of consumers. Today’s complex networks are no longer possible to manage manually as it requires real-time actionable insights, partner coordination and proactive incident resolution. Who owns the brand will own the risk as well. In pharmaceuticals, it can be the marketing authorisation holder, with CPGs, it’s the brand holder or it can be the Head of Supply Chain Management if there is such a position in the company. Visibility can radically decrease the problem of counterfeit products too. Simulations can help decide whether adding a new supplier or increasing stock levels would have the desired impact.  

 

Related technologies fall into several categories – decision-enabling; what-if scenarios incorporating network design tools; and real-time tracking that, combined with historical data and external data sets about the market, can lead to predictive analysis and the proactive mitigation of risks. Sometimes local supply chain regulation in a certain jurisdiction will mandate not only how many alternative suppliers your business should have but also in which countries. Europe, for example, mandates the keeping of iron stocks for medicines, so overstocking here is not a nice-to-have but a must. Sometimes regulatory pressure coming from different areas such as extended producer responsibility and supply chain visibility may cause headaches regarding which should be given priority in the budget.  

The panel’s advice 

• No business is too small for setting ESG goals, introducing control towers or for procuring a what-if scenario tool for their supply chains.   
• Map your risk profile and consider which digital solutions may help you create visibility for your supply chain.  
• Digitalisation may cost less than you think. There are affordable solutions on the market that can go a long way.  
• If technology and strategic planning are already in place, you will need a highly skilled workforce to manage unexpected risks as they come.