The Top 10 Risks Facing Supply Chain Professionals

The results are in from Lehigh's latest Business Supply Chain Risk Management Index Report and cybersecurity remains the top concern for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Launched in August 2020, the Index helps measure the risks across 10 categories, ranked from highest to lowest based on the perceptions of industry experts. Each area of risk is graded on a scale from 0 to 100. A score above 50 indicates an increased risk, while a score below 50 suggests a decrease.

Cybersecurity soared to an alarming 83.80 as companies fear their systems will be exposed. 

“This is a significant jump,” said Zach G. Zacharia, Director of the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh and creator of the index. “The supply chain professionals are apprehensive of cyberattacks, data corruption, data theft, system viruses and especially how generative AI might increase their companies’ vulnerability.”

Technology risks, particularly those associated with the advent of generative AI, climbed to the second spot with a score of 70.83. This marks the highest this category has ever been rated since the inception of the report and demonstrates the growing apprehensions about AI's impact on operations and security.

Government intervention ranked third at 69.44, reflecting ongoing anxiety over geopolitical uncertainties, particularly those arising from the Red Sea crisis and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. 

Zacharia, who is also a Supply Chain Management Professor at Lehigh, created the index to keep supply chain professionals aware of and involved with the biggest risks to businesses. It was created in collaboration with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, with the data being gathered via a survey sent to professionals in the industry. See below for the Top 10 compared to last quarter.

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