Build a resilient supply chain without a McKinsey-sized budget

For decades, the goal was lean and just-in-time.

The fewer suppliers, the better. The less inventory, the better. It worked — until it didn’t.

When you prioritize cost savings and speed above all else, you leave no margin for error. That’s not a strategy. That’s gambling.

If you haven’t already, map out the vulnerabilities in your supply chain. Where are you dependent on a single source? A single region? A single person’s knowledge?

List them. Name them. Get them out of your head and onto paper.

This isn’t just risk management. It’s business transformation.

You don’t need ten backup suppliers for every part, but you do need options. This is especially true for anything that could halt production.

Start small. Identify your operation’s five most critical items — inputs, components, or services — and ensure you have a second source for each. That second source doesn’t need to be active yet; it just needs to exist and be ready to step in if needed.

Think of this as building muscle memory. The goal isn’t perfect redundancy; it’s strategic optionality.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) treat suppliers like vendors on a price sheet, which is a missed opportunity.

The most resilient supply chains aren’t the cheapest. They’re the ones built on trust and shared context.

When disruption hits, the suppliers who know you well pick up the phone, offer alternatives, and go the extra mile.

Meet with your key suppliers regularly. Share forecasts. Be transparent about what’s working and what isn’t. Ask how you can help them de-risk.

And remember, building a resilient supply chain is a two-way street.

You don’t need a global control tower or an AI dashboard to improve visibility. Most SMEs are still operating on spreadsheets and gut feel. But some of this must change before it causes irreparable problems.

The first step is clarity. 

What do you actually know about your supply chain? Where is the inventory? Where are delays coming from? Who controls the upstream suppliers of your own suppliers?

Start simple:

You don’t need another tool until you have a discipline. Technology should amplify good processes, not cover for their absence.

Most SMEs overengineer stability instead of designing for change.

Look at your product design, sourcing decisions, and production plans. Are they flexible by default? Or are they frozen in the assumptions of 2019?

Here are examples of what flexibility looks like:

These decisions won’t win you awards for efficiency. But they will help you keep delivering when others stall.

Most organizations wait for a crisis to figure out their plan. That’s too late.

Run mock disruption scenarios at least twice a year. Think of them like companywide fire drills. Create a playbook for supplier failure, logistics breakdown, or sudden cost spikes. Assign real roles. Set decision thresholds. Practice under pressure.

Disruption is no longer rare. It’s part of the operating environment. Make resilience a capability, not an emergency response.

If you’re waiting for the “right time” to improve supply chain resilience, you’ve already waited too long. Real transformation isn’t a project, it’s an operating mindset.

Here are three things you can do this quarter:

Resilience doesn’t require costly new tools or a McKinsey-sized budget. It demands better decisions, more awareness, and a shift in what you value: agility over perfection, relationships over transactions, and preparation over optimism.

This is how SMEs compete and win; not by copying the playbook of bigger firms, but by playing a smarter game.

Ready to make your supply chain resilient? Learn how our executive advisory services can help.