The procurement function: the first line of defence for business resilience
Global supply chains are facing increasing volatility: as a result, the procurement function is taking on a crucial role, evolving from a centre of efficiency into a pillar of business resilience
by Alfredo Vaghi* and Cristina Brotto**
Volatility is flaring up again in global supply chains. The current geopolitical context demonstrates, once again, how localised events can have rapid and profound effects on the global economy, primarily affecting the availability of energy and logistics services, with knock-on effects on the availability of raw materials, the resilience of suppliers and, consequently, on inflation and margins. In this scenario, the procurement function remains the primary guardian of business resilience.
In recent years, global supply chains have come under pressure from a rapid succession of shocks of various kinds: the pandemic, the blockage of the Suez Canal, the war in Ukraine and its impact on Black Sea trade flows, transit restrictions in the Panama Canal due to drought and, more recently, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. More than any single event, it is the frequency and scale – up to four or five times greater than in the 1970s and 1980s – with which even localised disruptions rapidly spread to the entire global production system that is striking.
These disruptions demonstrate how the vulnerability of supply chains stems from the high degree of interconnection between raw materials, components, transport, production capacity and working capital. When a critical node breaks down, the effects extend far beyond the area directly affected: lead times lengthen, cost variability increases, and the risk of the disruption spreading to multiple supply chains grows. It is this systemic nature of disruption that makes resilience a managerial priority, even before it becomes an operational one.
For Europe and Italia, the issue is therefore not merely direct dependence on a specific supply region, but overall exposure to global volatility: energy prices, availability of materials, transport reliability, delivery times and pressure on working capital. In a context where geopolitical, climatic and operational shocks tend to overlap, businesses must equip themselves to manage more frequent and less predictable scenarios, strengthening their ability to anticipate risks, react swiftly and reconfigure supplies, routes and stocks when necessary.
This is where the procurement function takes on a new character. In normal circumstances, the function is primarily expected to deliver efficiency: to negotiate better, standardise processes and reduce costs. In contexts of high geopolitical volatility, however, it becomes the hub for identifying subtle signals and translating them swiftly into operational decisions. It is no longer enough simply to buy well; it must be done safely, with visibility, ready-made alternatives and effective coordination between operations, finance and sales. This visibility must also extend to second-tier suppliers, to identify in advance critical dependencies, concentrations of risk and potential points of failure in the supply chain.
