Copyright Fast Company
In October 2024, more than 47,000 U.S. port workers went on strike, shutting down 36 major East and Gulf Coast ports and stranding billions of dollars’ worth of goods. At the same time, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea forced container ships to reroute thousands of miles around Africa, adding weeks and significant costs to already stretched supply chains. Together, these crises revealed a hard truth: Global supply chains are both the backbone of daily life and among its most fragile systems. And disruption is no longer rare. Resilinc—a leading supply chain risk monitoring and resiliency analytics firm—reports that global supply chain disruptions jumped nearly 40% in 2024 compared to the previous year. On average, companies now face month-long disruptions every 3.7 years, according to McKinsey. Efficiency may have driven the last era of supply chain strategy, but resilience will define the next. Subscribe to the Daily newsletter.Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters Thriving companies are those rethinking transformation not as a one-time initiative but as an ongoing journey—where adaptability, sustainability, and customer-centricity are core design principles. Lessons from a decade of disruption The last 10 years stress-tested global trade. A pandemic shut down borders, extreme weather rerouted entire industries, and geopolitical tensions disrupted energy and transportation networks. Companies that invested in flexible, diversified supply chains emerged stronger, while those optimizing for efficiency only found themselves exposed. The pandemic semiconductor shortage revealed what happens when industries over-rely on a handful of suppliers, stalling everything from electronics to car manufacturing. Similarly, the 2011 Thailand floods submerged hundreds of factories, crippling global automotive and electronics supply chains for months. These moments remind us: Disruption isn’t an anomaly but a recurring feature of the global economy. The shift underway today is clear, and resilience is a competitive advantage. People and power transformation When companies talk about transformation, they often focus on technology. But the real foundation is people. Every acquisition, restructuring, or digital rollout is as much about culture as it is about systems. Retaining talent, respecting local expertise, and supporting teams through change can make or break transformation efforts. Consider Amazon, which pairs large-scale automation with aggressive workforce reskilling programs to help employees transition into tech-enabled logistics roles. A similar trend is unfolding in warehouse automation. The Boston Dynamics “Stretch” robot is automating trailer unloading—traditionally one of the most tedious, labor-intensive, and injury-prone tasks in logistics. The robot handles repetitive box-moving, while human workers supervise, manage exceptions, and handle irregular items. The system’s success is evident in Gap Inc.’s reports of reduced injuries, lower turnover, and increased employee morale after deploying the robot technology in its warehouses. These moves show that transformation is not just technical—it’s cultural. Bold strategies will build tomorrow’s logistics workforce, a challenge that remains urgent today. Successful companies will combine culture, talent retention, and training with their digital transformations. Every acquisition or restructuring is about culture and capabilities. Retaining top talent, respecting local expertise, and empowering teams to innovate differentiate between a smooth integration and a stalled one. Put simply: Supply chain resilience depends as much on the people running the systems as the systems themselves. Technology as the bridge to resilience Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital twins (virtual duplicates of physical objects or systems) are helping organizations anticipate disruptions before they occur. Unilever, for example, has deployed AI-driven digital twin factories to model demand scenarios and streamline production. AI-driven forecasting can incorporate factors ranging from geopolitical risks to port congestion, while simulations enable companies to test supply chain models without disrupting day-to-day operations. At the same time, automation reduces repetitive tasks, freeing employees to focus on solving problems and providing customer service. advertisement Technology isn’t replacing people but amplifying them. The future of logistics is high-tech and also human-centered. A long-term vision in a short-term world Resilience requires patience. Too many organizations recalibrate strategy quarterly, reacting to earnings rather than anticipating the future. But resilience requires long-term commitment. Tesla’s decision to vertically integrate its supply chain—from battery production to software— required massive upfront investment but positioned the company to weather commodity shocks and scale faster than competitors. Similarly, Walmart’s long-term sustainability commitments, including an electrified trucking fleet and the elimination of a billion tons of supply-chain emissions, reflect a decades-long strategy, not a quarterly adjustment. The payoff is measured in decades, not quarters. Customers as co-architects of change True transformation begins with the customer. Listen closely to what your clients need. Whether it’s visibility, sustainability, or regionalized supply chains, building around client needs creates lasting value. Nike’s consumer-direct strategy, which included redesigning its supply chain to prioritize speed and personalization, is a clear example. By shifting inventory closer to customers and investing in data analytics, Nike boosted margins and improved resilience even as global logistics grew more complex. This shift reframes transformation as a partnership rather than a process. Customers are collaborators in shaping the future of trade. The next era of supply chains The playbook has changed. The next era of supply chain transformation is about building systems that bend without breaking, and integrating technology with people. It involves planning decades ahead while keeping customers at the center of those plans. And the playbook must account for a climate future that tests infrastructure in unprecedented ways. From heat waves disrupting European rail lines to wildfires threatening Canadian ports, supply chains will increasingly be shaped by environmental resilience as much as economic resilience. The leaders who understand this shift will endure volatility and help define the future of world trade. Glen Clark is the CEO of DP World U.S./Mexico and the regional head of contract logistics
