We do live in strange and difficult times. Specially for companies who have been hit hard by the current Covid19 measures that are taken on a global level. Many people do predict that live will never be the same anymore as before the Covid19 outbreak. There are many thoughts on the future organisation of big events, working from home will be looked at from a different point of view and what to do with very crowded offices spaces. Answers on these question will be develop along the way. From a supply chain perspective we also have seen huge impacts globally and also in this area structural changes will be made. Will we in the future still look the same way in offshoring production, take long lead-times as granted and act on minimum stock levels in centralised warehouses for, which became clear now, critical products in times of crisis? Many company's, if not all, will review their current set up and will take learnings into account. But what in the end will be changed and how are we going to manage that change. The big risk in these kind of situations is that we start firefighting the visible effects without proper analysis what is causing the affect with as result that we do not solve the structural issue behind the visible affect. First of all lets be clear, no-one can avoid an unexpected crisis that unfortunate happens from time to time. We can however be better prepared in many cases and with a better preparation limited the affects on our supply chain. In times that everything is running smooth, we are in a growing economy and do not have any signals that a potential crisis might be developing just under the surface, we do not see the need to review our supply chain set up, think about what could happen and how we could create contingency plans. It's not needed, a waste of time so why border? Putting in place a structural periodically review of your full supply chain including your sourcing strategy, stock strategy, distribution strategy, supply chain finance strategy and supply chain collaboration should be a key activity. Key is also that the review is done in line with your latest company strategy to secure that you organise the right things. The review on its own wil of course not help. The review should indicate risk area's in certain scenario's which must be worked out in contingency plans. For sure we cannot avoid every crisis but we can be prepared in way that, at least, we have visible where our risks are, what potential contingencies can be and how to act fast in certain scenario's. This will also lead to take calculated risk, which is part of being in business, but should avoid the majority of surprises. Despite the current difficult period for many I look forward to the developments that we can jointly create and take us to a next level of supply chain management. Stay safe and healthy! Rogier van Zon