As global disruption becomes a structural feature of modern trade, Mourad Tamoud, EVP Chief Supply Chain Officer at Schneider Electric, outlines a four-pillar framework to help businesses build more resilient, responsive and competitive supply chains.
Global trade is being reshaped at a pace nobody could have anticipated. Tariffs, conflicts and energy shocks are colliding to create a landscape where volatility is no longer episodic, but structural.
According to McKinsey, 94 percent of companies experienced supply chain disruptions in the past year, with cumulative losses exceeding $1.6 trillion worldwide. The World Economic Forum has gone further, warning that supply chain fragility is now among the top five risks to global growth.
In this environment, organisations can no longer afford to react to disruption as it happens. The ability to anticipate, adapt and recover has become a defining source of competitive advantage.
What was once considered a back-office function is now a boardroom priority, influencing business continuity, manufacturing performance and long-term growth.
Having spent my career leading global supply chains, I have seen firsthand what separates organisations that successfully manage disruptions from those that struggle.
Drawing on these experiences, I have outlined my Principles of Resilience, a practical framework based on the characteristics of successful, high-performing supply chains.
Built on four pillars, diversification, agility, digitalisation and sustainability, these principles provide organisations with a toolkit to strengthen resilience, respond confidently to uncertainty and build lasting competitive advantage.
Diversification
Localised supply chain models are now mainstream, with production increasingly aligned to end markets to reduce supply disruptions and shortages.
A Deloitte report found that 9 in 10 manufacturers have multiple suppliers, but only 44 percent have regional diversification of suppliers, and that companies with regionally diversified suppliers were less affected by recent disruptions.
Yet diversification extends beyond geography. Organisations must also diversify their operational capabilities by investing in the digital infrastructure needed to bring real-time visibility and adapt quickly when disruption occurs.
Consider our El Paso site in the United States, which faced rapid growth in data centre demand.
By deploying IoT and advanced AI solutions across its engineer-to-order value chain, the site increased on-time delivery from 61 percent to 97 percent, reduced lead times by up to 35 percent and eliminated $43 million in backorders.
In this case, resilience was built not through geography alone, but through technology that created a smarter, more agile and more responsive operation.
Agility
Gartner research shows that companies with agile supply chains recover 50 percent faster from disruption than peers. However, agility is not just about speed of response but about designing supply chains to adapt by default and that are anti-fragile.
That shift often means moving away from centralised operating models toward interconnected regional hubs.
Multi‑hub structures give local teams the ability to act closer to customers, respond to market dynamics and navigate regulatory shifts while staying aligned to global standards.
By distributing capabilities across regions, organisations reduce single points of failure, strengthen continuity and cut reliance on carbon‑intensive long‑distance logistics.
We have embedded this principle into our global supply chain strategy. Rather than relying on a single footprint, we operate a network of regional hubs across Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.
This approach enables manufacturing closer to customers, faster responses to regional demand and smoother compliance with local regulations, while maintaining consistent quality through shared digital platforms.
Several of these sites have been recognised as World Economic Forum Sustainability Lighthouses, now including facilities in El Paso and Beijing campuses.
Digitalisation
Technology is the backbone of resilience. AI and analytics provide realtime visibility into raw materials, components and supplier networks. Digital twins and scenario modelling allow companies to anticipate shocks before they cascade.
Today, 73 percent of supply chain leaders are investing in AI-driven platforms, and 65 percent already use AI for risk monitoring, according to Gartner.
Our Le Vaudreuil factory in France, now a World Economic Forum Lighthouse, shows what digitalisation can achieve.
By connecting 81 percent of machines with IoT and integrating IT/OT systems, we enabled predictive maintenance that delivered zero breakdowns over four years.
Digitising processes reduced cycle times in chemical areas and increased capacity by 30 percent while empowering teams with an end‑to‑end control tower that now manages 90 percent of orders.
Digitalisation here transformed a long‑established site into a predictive, adaptive network and is proof that resilience can be built on existing foundations.
Sustainability
Sustainability is not optional; it is a resilience enabler. Cutting carbon-intensive logistics reduces exposure to regulatory changes and energy price volatility.
The United Nations estimates that climate disruptions will affect 50 percent of supply chains by 2030, making sustainability a core resilience strategy rather than a corporate add-on.
Our Molins de Rei site in Spain exemplifies this staged approach. Despite high energy usage, it is now a zero-carbon site.
By first implementing meters and EcoStruxure to model energy consumption, then electrifying HVAC systems with heat pumps, and finally replacing gas boilers with electric alternatives while adding solar panels, the site cut 2,250 tons of CO₂ annually and improved energy efficiency by 24 percent compared to 2019 levels.
Sustainability here was not a one-time initiative but a phased journey, proving that resilience is built step by step.
Looking ahead: resilience as competitive edge
Volatility is now a constant. Businesses must assume disruption is the baseline. Those embedding agility, sustainability and digital oversight into their supply chains will not only survive but thrive.
The lesson is clear: resilience is no longer a defensive posture. It is the new competitive edge.
