Today’s title serves two purposes: Firstly, it describes what I take back from the ISCRiM 2010 seminar I attended this week, where I had the chance to meet a small selection of who’s who in supply chain risk research. Secondly, it is the name of a fascinating new website I learned of at the seminar. Set up by Zurich Insurance, the website is aimed at helping senior managers and directors in finance, supply chain, operations and risk develop a deeper understanding of the tactical considerations and strategic approaches to minimize impacts of disruptions to the supply chain. And this is a site that is definitely worth having in your bookmarks.
Insurance and risk mitigation
Why would an insurance company care about supply chain risk? And why would they care enough to make a site like Supply Chain Risk Insights? The answer may be obvious, and at the same time maybe not so obvious. The obvious reason for caring is that risk insurance is their business and that encouraging risk mitigation with their clients is good for business,i.e. less payouts. In this sense, Zurich acts as both a risk insurer and a risk consultant. Fair enough. The not so obvious reason, according to their own words, is to stay at the forefront of supply chain risk research:
Drawing on the knowledge of supply chain risk experts, key institutions and industry bodies, themes covered include
– the challenges and most common causes of supply chain disruption, and what managers can do to avoid them.
– how awareness of supply chain risks can boost corporate performance.
– the implications for business of the likely changes to supply chain dynamics in the future.
As far as I can tell form my cursory review, it is a site that will appeal to both academics, researchers, and practitioners alike, and it does so very well.
Highlights
The oldest article is from March 2010, so the site is quite new, but some of the more interesting articles I found were
- Business Resilience – showing how contingency plans and logistics partners can help companies cope with natural disasters.
- Social Responsibility – discussing how corporate social responsibility extends far into the supplier realm.
- Assessing Risks – illustrating that disruption risks often stem from not managing your suppliers properly.
So far, the archive contains no more than 10 articles, but I do hope to see it grow as this site develops.
Supply Chain Management Insight Videos
A nice feature on Supply Chain Risk Insights are a selection of short 3-minute supply chain risk insights videos with Linda Conrad and Nick Wildgoose from Zurich, who present hot topics that relate to supply chain risk management, and what you as an executive should be aware of and how you can mitigate risk, e.g. this video on business continuity.
There are other videos, e.g. on Supply Chain Disruptions and Supply Chain Risk Metrics. Even as an academic I found these videos quite educating. I spent some time talking to Nick Wildgoose at the ISCRIM 2010 seminar, and I think Zurich is headed the right way by linking up with ISCRIM. That way they can act as a catalyst for feeding the supply chain industry with the latest supply chain risk research and conversely, feed academia with the challenges where more research is needed.
Zurich Risk Engineering
Unsurprisingly, with Zurich behind the wheel of this site, one of its purposes is to funnel potential clients to Zurich, which is why the site contains a number of links to Zurich. Here you can find more information on how to assess, monitor and manage the risk landscape your business is operating in, using a set of tools and guides provided by Zurich, covering topics such as Property risk management, Liability risk management, Employee health & safety risk management, Motor fleet risk management and Strategic risk management. Perhaps not directly related to supply chain risk, but very much a part of the whole picture of risk a business owner should be familiar with.
The verdict
All in all, I find that Supply Chain Risk Insights is a valuable addition to my Internet resources for researching and learning about supply chain risk, particularly from a practitioner’s point of view. I’m sure there are many more sites out there, run by others insurers or consultants, but I haven’t come across one that specifically targets supply chain risk. If there is, please let me know, and I’ll be happy to include it in my list.
Links
- supplychainriskinsights.com: Supply Chain Risk Insights
- zurich.com/riskengineering: Zurich Risk Engineering
Related
- husdal.com: Supply Chain (Risk) blogs of note
(If you would like to have your blog/website reviewed, please contact me)
