How to Safeguard Your Supply Chain in Times of Disruption
It often takes a crisis to remind us how much we take our business operations for granted. And when disruptions hit, as CEO, you’re the one under pressure to keep things running smoothly.
The COVID-19 pandemic put global supply chains to the test, slowing manufacturing and shipping to a crawl. Even as the world moves forward, new challenges—geopolitical tensions, economic fluctuations, and extreme weather—continue to threaten the stability of supply lines.
In recent years, we’ve witnessed one crisis after another. In 2021, the Ever Given blocked shipments through the Suez Canal. The war in Ukraine upended shipping routes in 2022. Piracy, drug trafficking, and smuggling destabilized key shipping lanes across the globe. And in 2024, a strike by thousands of dockworkers paralyzed ports along the U.S. East Coast.
Today, CEOs and their executive teams are facing an unprecedented set of challenges. In this post, we’ve enlisted several of our top CEO coaches to share strategies for handling supply chain disruptions, actionable steps to fortify your operations, and tips for keeping your business moving forward, even when the unexpected happens.
Here’s how you can safeguard your business to avoid disruption:
1. Gather data as quickly as possible
When a crisis arrives, you don’t have the luxury of time. Even when you’re about to make a tough executive decision, you’ll need to pull together as much data as you can—market research, financial analysis, customer feedback, industry news, and diverse input from your team—so that whatever decision you make is grounded in hard data and perspectives from across the organization. For example, have your legal team look at all of your contracts for force majeure, or “unforeseen events” clauses, to understand any liabilities or protections you may have.
The more you can remove your bias from an issue, the better, especially if the situation is developing.
You’ll need to act quickly, so set aside a certain amount of time for data collection, and then once you’ve gathered as much information as you can, you can make a plan. Use your values to guide you: Stay true to the vision you’ve set for your one-year, three-year, or five-year plan, even if a curve ball means the details look different than you hoped.
2. Communicate your plan internally and externally
Once you make a decision, communicate your plan to your team. Depending on the nature of the crisis, your team may be concerned about the business or losing their position. The best way to minimize panic is to communicate as much as you can about what you know and what you’re still working on so they know they can count on you as a leader.
That same steadiness goes for your customers and suppliers, too. “Proactively communicate,” says CEO coach Michael Marchi. “This will adjust expectations and coordinate contingency plans, including rerouting shipments or delaying deliveries where necessary.”
3. Evaluate supply chain structure and shipping routes
To keep a supply chain competitive, CEOs must know where products are in the supply chain, how much inventory is stocked in warehouses, and how quickly they can move it to distribution centers or directly to customers.
The resilience of your supply chain matters in times of crisis. “This is your opportunity to be disruptive,” says coach Christopher Larkins. “I often hear questions like, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if more companies made products closer to home, in the United States?’ It’s often met with, ‘We just can’t disentangle from Asia.’ Well, what if you could? I encourage you to challenge your point of view.”
For example, when a dockworker strike in September 2024 shut down shipping operations on the East Coast of the United States, our coaches recommended looking at ports in Canada or Mexico as a starting point. Another option? Rerouting through air, freight, or rail until a stronger solution could be reached.
“The port here in L.A. can only add 40 more container ships per month, which are likely already reserved for current customers,” says coach Ramona Cappello. “Moving quickly is of the essence. [Changing routes] involves time and customs paperwork. Often, airlines’ profitability is based on freight shipments, so this is a viable option. It’s not as cost prohibitive when it means getting supply or not getting supply.”
A crisis like this is also a potential catalyst for expanding your supplier base. One of the biggest weaknesses in most supply chains is an overdependence on too few suppliers for a given product. “Looking for alternate local suppliers or alternate products and components available locally can help alleviate the situation,” adds Ramona.
4. Adjust costs and pricing
As you pivot your supply chain, identifying the impact on the budget immediately is crucial. “Evaluate costs and pricing right away,” says Michael. “Given the expected rise in transportation costs and delays, firms want to assess the financial impact and adjust pricing and budgets accordingly.”
Take a look at:
- How many price increases have you absorbed, and how does that inform your customer approach?
- How do you know if you’ve raised prices enough?
- Is your cost-plus model still serving you?
- What competitive advantage would enable value pricing?
During a crisis is not the time to find out that you have a cash issue. You’re going to need that cash to stay viable and competitive. “Ensure you have liquidity or borrowing capacity to pay cash vs. waiting to negotiate a credit arrangement with suppliers. This gives you an advantage over competitors looking to engage the same supplier,” says coach John Giegerich.
Stay on top of your cash flow so you know exactly what’s going in and what’s going out. We recommend planning using the Cash Bridge Tool to analyze and interpret the impact of multiple variables on cash flow. A good rule of thumb? Aim to have 180 days to six months of cash on hand.
5. Call in an expert in times of crisis
You can’t predict every single kind of disruption that may happen to your business. But if there’s anything that uncertainty teaches us, it’s that the best leaders know when to ask for help—so that they can make more effective, quick decisions that can save their business. As you look toward the future, working with a coach who has been through their own set of crises can help you prepare for anything that might happen.
Hiring an executive coach can help you better identify which activities you can do to safeguard your business in times of crisis. Whether it’s helping access your supply chain resilience or holding you accountable for your strategic vision, our coaches are here to help you make BIG happen. Connect with a CEO Coach for a complimentary coaching session >
About CEO Coaching International
CEO Coaching International works with CEOs and their leadership teams to achieve extraordinary results quarter after quarter, year after year. Known globally for its success in coaching growth-focused entrepreneurs to meaningful exits, CEO Coaching International has coached more than 1,000 CEOs and entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries and 45 industries. The coaches at CEO Coaching International are former CEOs, presidents, or executives who have made BIG happen. The firm’s coaches have led double-digit sales and profit growth in businesses ranging in size from startups to over $10 billion, and many are founders that have led their companies through successful eight, nine, and ten-figure exits. Companies working with CEO Coaching International for two years or more have experienced an average EBITDA CAGR of 53.5% during their time as a client, more than three times the U.S. average, and a revenue CAGR of 26.2%, nearly twice the U.S. average.
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