​Accenture and MIT create supply chain resilience stress test

Accenture and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are co-developing a supply chain resilience stress test for assessing operational and financial risks created by major market disruptions, disasters or other catastrophic events.

Inspired by the crucial financial services industry stress tests that became compulsory after the 2008 financial crisis, the joint effort aims to create a global industry standard for a data-driven strategic assessment of supply chain resilience.
 
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed considerable weaknesses, resulting in severe disruptions in supply chains around the globe, shedding light on the need for intelligent supply chains that prioritise transparency, anticipate new risks and enable faster decision-making,” said Kris Timmermans, senior managing director and Accenture’s global supply chain & operations lead. 

“Our stress test enables companies to run more than 40 scenarios at one time, providing unprecedented visibility into where and how their supply chains will be impacted during a major disruption.”
 
Using the stress test, companies will be able to quickly identify potential points of failure in their supply chain, assess their related financial exposure, and define appropriate mitigation strategies and actions. Because the scenarios are standardised, organisations both in the public and private sector will also be able to benchmark their resilience against peers and competitors across industries.
 
The test is designed to be scalable and adaptable to changing market conditions and customer expectations as supply chains continue to evolve. Global food company, Sigma, through its European subsidiary Campofrio, is among the companies working with Accenture and MIT to implement the stress test.  

“Managing the impact of COVID-19 required high effort on our side, and in the process, we uncovered several weaknesses in the supply chain we wished we had identified more proactively before,” said Fernando Ibarra, supply chain director of Sigma in Europe. “Working with Accenture and MIT on this… project will be key to recognise other potential weaknesses and continue increasing our supply chain resilience.”