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Global supply chains are now building up resilience into their systems, according to YCP’s latest white paper
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Events in the past five years – COVID pandemic, geopolitical frictions, and climate-related developments – have shown that cost and operational efficiencies are not enough moving forward
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Recent surveys show that more than 80% of supply chain leaders have experienced significant disruptions, with the financial impact of major failures exceeding on average 45% of annual EBITDA
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Companies are pursuing resilience as part of the supply chain design rather than just a response measure
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This means supply chain businesses are: building more regionalized networks, adopting strategic sourcing models, and strengthening visibility across multi-tier supply chains
Global supply chains are now building up resilience into their systems after events in the past five years – COVID pandemic, geopolitical frictions, and climate-related developments – have shown that cost and operational efficiencies are not enough moving forward.
“For decades, global supply chains were built around efficiency, optimized for cost, scale and speed. That model is now being re-evaluated,” said international consulting firm YCP in its latest white paper, “Resilience by Design: A Strategic Playbook for Nearshoring, Friend-Shoring and Regional Supply Networks.”
“From pandemic shocks to geopolitical tensions and climate-related risks, supply chains today must be designed not just to perform, but to endure. This shift is driving a renewed focus on supply chain risk management and resilience,” it said.
According to the paper, recent surveys show that more than 80% of supply chain leaders have experienced significant disruptions, with the financial impact of major failures exceeding on average 45% of annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), a measurement for a company’s operational profitability.
“Drawing on global case studies across industries such as semiconductors, automotive and electronics, the white paper explores how leading players are balancing efficiency with robustness: building supply chains that can adapt, recover and scale amid uncertainty,” YCS said in a news release on the report.
Companies are pursuing resilience as part of the supply chain design rather than just a response measure.
This means supply chain businesses are: (1) building more regionalized networks, (2) adopting strategic sourcing models, (3) and strengthening visibility across multi-tier supply chains.
With regional supply networks, operators are proving more resilient in volatile environments. “Companies shifting to multi-local ecosystems are recovering faster from disruptions, reducing geopolitical exposure and improving service levels. Resilience is increasingly tied to performance, not just risk mitigation,” YCS said.
For high-value production, nearshoring is evolving into a strategic lever and not simply for cost efficiency. “Companies are relocating advanced manufacturing, including AI infrastructure and electronics, closer to demand to improve speed, control and supply security,” it said.
Stronger visibility means companies are putting money in AI, digital twins and multi-tier supplier mapping to be able to detect risks earlier and respond immediately, before disruptions escalate and across the supply chain.
Building resilience, YCS said, requires a clear framework to redesign supply chains. This starts with diagnosis, and covers network restructuring, digital enablement, strategic partnerships, and continuous monitoring.
It underscored that “resilience is no longer a defensive option, but a strategic advantage.”
READ: Global logistics execs using AI, cost controls in ‘new normal’
