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Breaking Out the Old Blueprints Won’t Work for Your Supply Chain Future

With all the supply disruption over the last few years, business leaders are breaking out the old contingency plans.

You might want to pause and remember President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s advice on planning: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”

The 34th U.S. president and D-Day general knew that planning helped prepare you to act in real life. Even if your specific plans to mitigate risk go poof.

I talk to many executives and supply chain leaders every week. For all of them, “plans no longer available” has been a refrain over the last half decade.

Don’t expect that to change. With wars, President Trump’s tariff threats, natural disasters and economic pressures intensifying, it’s impossible to pick one plan and stick with it.

And frankly, the old contingency plan or two won’t work. These days, executive teams need to rapidly conduct a strategic self-assessment. That contingency planning process must provide a high-level cost analysis of manufacturing and supply costs for regions across the globe. Pair that with some “what if” scenario modeling, and you can figure out where you need to move your manufacturing and supply chains.

And then where you need to move them again. Because in the era of ReGlobalization, dynamic supply chain optionality beats static supply chains any day.

A Smarter Approach to Contingency Planning

Luckily, Tompkins Ventures has that Dynamic Supply Chain Optionality (DSCO) tool. The tool is a smarter approach to contingency planning. Because navigating today’s level of complexity requires embracing ReGlobalization and Xshoring – a dynamic combination of nearshoring, reshoring, friendshoring and applying cutting-edge technology to manufacturing and supply chain operations.

To create contingency plans, your teams need to evaluate alternative sourcing strategies and add optionality – multiple backup production, logistics and transportation solutions. The right approach blends flexibility with strategic foresight, ensuring operations can withstand unforeseen disruptions.

And the DSCO tool – or its equivalent – is the best way to start determining your company’s path forward. The tool helps your executive and operations teams:

  • Evaluate real-time scenarios: Instantly analyze disruptions and explore alternative supply chain configurations.
  • Make data-driven decisions: Compare costs, risks and benefits of sourcing and distribution changes with actionable insights.
  • Adapt to change: Stay agile in response to tariffs, geopolitical shifts, natural disasters and market demand fluctuations.

Creating Real Supply Chain Resilience

That is the path to true supply chain resilience. You must go beyond identifying potential risks – you must proactively build a system that thrives in uncertainty. Your contingency plans must include:

  • End-to-end visibility: Monitor every stage of your supply chain, from raw materials to final delivery.
  • Regional diversification: Reduce dependency on single-source suppliers by leveraging multiple regions.
  • Agility and flexibility: Implement systems that pivot swiftly in response to unforeseen events.
  • Digital transformation: Harness AI and machine learning for predictive analytics and autonomous operations.

They aren’t just business operational safeguards. They combine to create competitive advantage. By investing in Xshoring and DSCO, your business’ contingency plans can help your company:

  • Capitalize on the tsunami of tariffs while your competition flounders,
  • Minimize downtime and disruptions,
  • Reduce total landed costs while enhancing service levels, and
  • Capture new market opportunities with faster, more reliable supply chains.

Because agility, optionality and reliability drive profitable growth.

Even When Plans Fail, Planning Helps You Face the Unexpected

After all, no matter how meticulous your planning, in the age of ReGlobalization, something will change. That happened with President (then a general and commander of Allied forces) Eisenhower in 1944.

The planning process for Operation Overlord was meticulous and comprehensive. It began in early 1943 and involved detailed considerations of logistics, troop movements and potential scenarios. However, the realities of combat required on-the-spot adaptations, with contingency planning playing a pivotal role in overcoming unforeseen challenges.

The airborne assaults alone could have been disastrous. The U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were tasked with securing key positions inland to facilitate the seaborne landings. However, navigational errors and adverse weather conditions scattered paratroopers far and wide.

Although this dispersal led to disarray, rigorous training and emphasis on flexibility allowed these units to adapt swiftly. Small groups improvised, seizing unexpected opportunities to disrupt German defenses and secure vital routes.

On the ground at Omaha Beach, many landing craft missed their intended zones. And troops encountered unexpectedly strong German defenses. The pre-invasion bombardment failed to neutralize key German positions, leaving the landing forces exposed and vulnerable.

Despite these setbacks, the troops on the ground demonstrated remarkable adaptability. Small groups of soldiers, often led by junior officers and non-commissioned officers, took the initiative to find ways up the bluffs and establish beachheads. 

The planning process helped the Allies well beyond D-Day. Their flexibility in logistics planning proved invaluable as the campaign progressed across occupied France and supply needs evolved. Last year I detailed the supply chain team that saved Patton’s drive toward Paris here – that’s always worth a read!

Again, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”

DSCO Can Help Develop Contingency Plans that Adapt

So, like Eisenhower and Patton, reality won’t match your current contingency plans. But having the right tool to make those plans is critical. The right planning will equip your forces with the knowledge, flexibility and optionality to maintain or gain competitive advantage.

Because no matter how beautiful your contingency plans are, unexpected events will force them to change. That’s just the reality of business and supply chain these days.

Want to start developing your path to ReGlobalization? Reach out, and let’s talk about Xshoring, DSCO and ways to help your supply chains adapt in a world of perpetual supply chain disruption.