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  • 1.  Should Supply Chain Teams Own Geopolitical Monitoring?

    Posted 7 days ago

    With geopolitical events increasingly shaping global trade, sourcing strategies, and logistics networks, an important question is emerging: Should supply chain teams own geopolitical monitoring?

    Traditionally, geopolitical intelligence has been the domain of government affairs, risk management, or executive leadership. However, today's supply chain leaders are often the first to experience the consequences of trade restrictions, sanctions, regional conflicts, tariffs, and regulatory changes. This proximity to disruption suggests that supply chain teams may be best positioned to identify risks early and translate insights into action.

    On the other hand, effective geopolitical monitoring requires specialized expertise, continuous analysis, and access to intelligence that many supply chain organizations may not possess. Expecting supply chain professionals to become geopolitical analysts could dilute focus from their core responsibilities.

    Perhaps the real question is not about ownership, but accountability. Should supply chain teams lead the response while partnering with risk, compliance, and government affairs experts for the intelligence?

    As supply chains become more interconnected and exposed to global uncertainty, geopolitical literacy is rapidly becoming a critical leadership skill.

    What do you think: Should supply chain teams own geopolitical monitoring, or should they be informed stakeholders acting on insights generated elsewhere in the business?



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    Dylan Palmer-Givan
    Supply Chain Leader
    dylan.palmergivan@gmail.com
    Australia
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  • 2.  RE: Should Supply Chain Teams Own Geopolitical Monitoring?

    Posted 5 days ago

    Thank you, Dylan, for this insightful article, which underscores the need for geopolitically intelligent supply chain management. Government and private sector stakeholders have complementary roles to play in managing supply chains efficiently. Government brings tools such as policy and regulation, giving it the edge in geopolitical monitoring, specialized expertise, oversight mandate, and access to intelligence. The private sector, meanwhile, brings lived experience, often being first to face the consequences of trade restrictions, sanctions, regional conflicts, tariffs, and regulatory changes. Public-private collaboration is therefore essential to ensure complementarity and real-world insight, and to strike the balance that delivers efficiency, effectiveness, and public good.



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    Kehinde Onasanya
    kenonepharm@yahoo.com
    Switzerland
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  • 3.  RE: Should Supply Chain Teams Own Geopolitical Monitoring?

    Posted 4 days ago
    Thank you, Dylan - you've nailed the tension we see in boardrooms everywhere.
    Supply chain teams feel geopolitical shocks first, yet they rarely have the mandate (or the headcount) to function as corporate intelligence units. That gap is where most organisations stumble.
    In my opinion, We shouldn't expect supply chain teams to own geopolitical monitoring. However, they absolutely must own geopolitical literacy.
    Their job isn't to predict the next tariff, sanction, or border closure. It's to build commercial and contractual architecture so resilient that the organisation doesn't need a perfect forecast to stay operational.
    Prediction is a luxury. Resilience is the discipline.


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    Saumya Thareja
    saumyathareja@ymail.com
    India
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