Disruption is no longer an exception in supply chain; it has become a structural constraint. Trying to predict and plan every possible scenario increases complexity, creates rigidity, and delivers limited return on investment. Leading organizations are shifting their approach. They keep planning as a foundation, while adding agility as a strategic execution capability. This model enables supply chains to adapt instantly when conditions change. Alternative sourcing, fulfillment, or distribution decisions become part of daily operations rather than emergency responses. In this context, supply chain resilience emerges from the ability to act fast and make the right trade-offs, not from the pursuit of perfect forecasts.
That’s what Swaroop Pawer, Head of Partnerships at Kbrw, discussed with Conor Tuhoy on #MilleniumLive: Facing Supply Chain Disruptions: How To Go Beyond Planning with Kbrw. Here are the main insights.
Supply chain disruptions are no longer exceptions
Supply chain disruptions now affect all industries on a large scale, from retail and luxury to manufacturing and automotive. Some disruptions are driven by global forces such as geopolitical tensions, tariff changes, or currency fluctuations. Others originate from operational incidents, including transportation delays, inventory damage, or workforce shortages.
What makes these disruptions particularly challenging is of course their unpredictability, but also the fact that they tend to cascade across the supply chain, even if they do not originate from your own company. The impact is immediate, affecting operational costs, service levels, and customer experience at the same time.
In our globalized, omnichannel environment, disruptions are no longer temporary anomalies, but rather part of normal operations.
Extensive planning reaches its limits
Even in this context, planning remains a critical component of supply chain management. It provides structure, alignment, and efficiency. In most organizations, planning successfully covers the majority of operational scenarios: when conditions remain stable, or when companies have had enough experience to learn how quickly set in motion alternative solutions in case of a particular case of disruption.
However, planning alone cannot address constant uncertainty. Attempting to anticipate every possible disruption creates excessive complexity and weakens return on investment. Many scenarios have a low probability but require significant effort (and cost) to plan for.
So, how can companies navigate these disruptions to maintain service levels without driving cost up? It's simple: zxecution teams need flexibility to respond and adapt in real time, even without a specific plan. Building a resilient supply chain, able to navigate daily perturbations on both a small and a large scale to minimize their impact, requires systems and processes designed to absorb shocks continuously. Supply chain resilience therefore depends on complementing planning with agile execution capabilities.
Turning agility into a strategic execution capability
We've mentioned the cost of over-planning, rather choosing agility to face supply chain disruptions. That does not mean that every reaction to a perturbation relies on improvisation. Instead, agility is to be seen as a structured execution model based on clear rules, priorities, and trade-offs that can evolve dynamically. When disruption occurs, the objective is not to follow the original plan, but to quickly identify the best alternative option.
That alternative may involve adjusting sourcing strategies, changing fulfillment locations, or rebalancing cost and service commitments. Agile supply chain execution allows these decisions to happen instantly, based on real-time data, and on a set of rules specific to the company's processes, context, clients, etc. Just as there's no two supply chains alike, two companies will react differently to a similar disruption. This rules customization capability also a big part of what we call agility.
Event-based architectures, real-time orchestration, and strongly adaptable and integrated solutions thus play a central role when it comes to gaining agility in a company's execution capability. They enable supply chains to protect SLAs and customer promise, even when conditions change unexpectedly.
Scaling resilience across downstream and upstream operations
Agile execution applies across the entire supply chain. Downstream, it enables flexible order fulfillment and delivery strategies. Orders can be rerouted, split, or sourced from alternative locations to maintain service levels.
Upstream, agility extends to internal and partner networks. Orders include flows between warehouses, plants, suppliers, and distributors. Expanding sourcing options through partner ecosystems increases resilience when internal stock is constrained.
This upstream flexibility is essential during large-scale disruptions such as tariff changes or geopolitical events. These situations affect sourcing costs, margins, and pricing strategies simultaneously. Resilient supply chains respond through rapid operational adaptation, allowing for quick fixes while setting up long-term strategic adjustments.
The role of agile technology and OMS in supply chain resilience
Resilience is no longer about anticipating a finite list of risks. It is about equipping the supply chain to adapt continuously. That shift is only possible with agile technology designed for execution, going beyond planning. A flexible OMS (Order Management System) plays a central role by acting as the orchestration layer of the supply chain, integrating with existing systems to unlock alternative sourcing, fulfillment, and distribution strategies in real time. If you want to transform your supply chain into an agile, resilient execution engine, contact us to discuss how Kbrw can support your strategy.
