How reliant are you on suppliers from other countries?

Our reader poll today asks: How reliant are you on suppliers from other countries?

• Extremely: critical amounts of our inputs come from other countries 15.75%
• Very: we source several critical inputs from other countries 16.54%
• Somewhat: a few important inputs come from other countries 25.20%
• Not very: a few less important inputs come from other countries 9.44%
• Not at all: barely any inputs come from other countries 33.07%

Protecting your supply chain. 30% of you are very dependent upon out-of-country sources of supply. Given the world turmoil we regularly face, having contingency plans in place in the event of supply disruptions is a wise idea. Consider building an alternate supplier base, having backup stock, and possible product changes to reduce reliance on those key suppliers. For those of you who don’t worry because not much of your input comes from outside the country, ask your suppliers this same question. You might be surprised to find a key “domestic” supplier is very reliant on out-of-country components and your risk might be higher than you originally thought. Bottom line – understand your supply chain risk and be prepared with contingency plans in case the unthinkable happens.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.