Supply chain disruption
Extended interruption to critical inbound supply.
The risk event
Extended interruption to critical inbound supply
Inability to source key components, materials or services on time, threatening production and customer commitments.
What could cause it, and what stops it
The left-hand side. Each cause is a plausible pathway to the event; the controls beneath it are the barriers that reduce the chance of that pathway completing.
Single-source supplier failure
A supplier with no qualified alternative becomes unable to deliver.
- Dual sourcing programPreventive · Planned · 3 to 6 months
Qualifying secondary suppliers for tier-1 components.
- Supplier financial monitoringDetective · Limited
Quarterly health checks on critical suppliers.
- Contractual SLAsDirective · Effective
Service-level commitments with penalty clauses.
Geopolitical / trade restrictions
Export controls, tariffs, or armed conflict block established supply lanes.
- Scenario planningDirective · Limited
Quarterly review of geopolitical scenarios and responses.
- Import diversificationPreventive · Planned · 6 to 12 months
Onboarding suppliers in alternative geographies.
Logistics provider failure
A freight or warehousing partner fails to deliver as contracted.
- Backup carrier agreementsPreventive · Effective
Standing agreements with alternative carriers.
- Freight insuranceCorrective · Effective
Cover for cargo loss and delay.
Quality / counterfeit goods
Substandard or counterfeit materials enter the supply chain.
- Incoming inspectionDetective · Effective
Sampled inspection of received goods.
- Supplier auditsDetective · Limited
Annual on-site audits of tier-1 suppliers.
- Traceability requirementsDirective · Effective
Lot-level traceability across the supply chain.
What happens if it occurs, and what limits it
The right-hand side. Each consequence is an outcome the event could produce; the controls beneath it are what contains or recovers from that outcome once the event has already happened.
Production downtime
Loss of manufacturing output due to material unavailability.
- Safety stockPreventive · Limited
Buffer inventory for tier-1 components.
- Alternative production sitesPreventive · Planned · 12 months or more
Cross-qualified production capacity.
- Force majeure clausesDirective · Effective
Contractual relief on customer commitments.
Customer order fulfilment delays
Customers experience late or missed deliveries.
- Customer comms protocolCorrective · Effective
Templated update cadence for affected customers.
- Expedited freight optionsCorrective · Limited
Standing contracts with expedited carriers.
- Demand re-allocationCorrective · Limited
Internal process to reprioritise across the customer base.
Contractual penalties
Liquidated damages or service credits payable to customers.
- Liability cap clausesPreventive · Effective
Negotiated caps on damages payable.
- Customer relationship managementCorrective · Limited
Senior account team engagement to negotiate remedies.
Margin erosion from spot pricing
Need to source at premium rates to backfill missing supply.
- Hedging programPreventive · Planned · 6 to 12 months
Forward contracts on volatile inputs.
- Indexed contractsPreventive · Limited
Customer pricing indexed to input commodities.
Where this template starts you
Ratings are a starting position, not a finding. They describe a generic organisation with the controls above in place; yours will differ, and the point of opening the template is to make them yours.
Make it yours
Opening the template loads it into the editor with everything above already in place. Rename the event, cut the causes that do not apply, and re-rate against your own matrix. Exports to PNG, PDF, Excel and PowerPoint are built in.