Perhaps in recognition of his fortieth birthday, Billy Joel wrote the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” in 1989. The song is a fast-paced chronicle of major geopolitical and cultural events of the time. It was a huge commercial success, topping the charts and earning a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

The song suggests that, despite having no role in creating these events, citizens of the world are constantly challenged to deal with a non-stop parade of high-profile issues impacting life as we know it. If the song were written in 2025, one might assume it referred to the life of a supply chain management professional. In fact, Billy Joel might be well served to re-release the song with lyrics reflecting today’s supply chain challenges.

In a previous blog, we identified three waves of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

First, there were major work stoppages and a loss of productivity due to plant closures, remote work, and process restructuring to allow for social distancing. These disruptions led to severe shortages across most sectors.

Next came the second wave: an exaggerated bullwhip effect. As supply started to catch up to overstated demand, unprecedented inventory levels appeared throughout the supply chain.

The third wave involved the psycho-sociocultural effects of the pandemic, consisting of three key elements:

• Out of necessity, companies abandoned many of their improvement initiatives. Simply surviving the pandemic consumed most of their capacity and mindshare.
  
  
• The widespread shift to remote work and the near-elimination of in-person meetings diminished opportunities for inter-company teamwork and collaboration.
  
  
• Increased levels of retirement required companies to recruit new employees into environments lacking mentorship and opportunities for collaborative work—both internally and externally.

It could be argued that, with the pandemic now five years behind us, the need for urgent action has passed. That argument might hold if another shock of similar magnitude were unlikely. However, the more realistic view is that our supply chains will face future upheavals. Recent tariff actions only add to an existing list of risks that includes geopolitical conflict, natural disasters driven by climate change, financial instability, and cyberterrorism—just to name a few.

The last line in the chorus of Joel’s song says, “No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it.” Outlined below are five suggestions that supply chain professionals might consider as they prepare to fight the fire:

1. Re-balance tactical and strategic supply chain management.
    Most supply chain resources are focused on daily execution. However, strategic elements—such as supply chain design, product offerings, and manufacturing location and capacity—can significantly impact how easily those day-to-day operations are executed and how vulnerable they are to disruption.
   
   
2. Prioritize risk identification and resiliency planning.
    The pandemic exposed the dangers of single-sourcing and the lack of visibility into upstream supply chain participants. Building in redundancy and resilience is more critical than ever.
   
   
3. Enhance supplier relationship management (SRM).
    In this new era of risk and rapid change, stronger supplier relationships are essential. That means more rigorous selection criteria, higher levels of joint planning and collaboration, and tighter alignment between customer and supplier executive teams.
   
   
4. Leverage the power of artificial intelligence.
    Generative AI is increasingly used to improve forecasting, simulate scenarios, provide real-time status updates, and optimize operations. Those who deploy AI most effectively will be better positioned to anticipate and respond to disruptions.
   
   
5. Invest in employee training and development.
    Like other improvement initiatives, employee development was sidelined during the pandemic. To realize the full benefits of the strategies above, organizations must invest in expanding employee understanding, skills, and competencies.
   
   

Hopefully, we won’t face another supply chain shock like the COVID-19 pandemic any time soon. Still, the known risks—and those we’ve yet to identify—make Ben Franklin’s advice from 1735 feel especially relevant: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”