By Peter Keogh & Lance Dowden, Managing Directors at Carl Marks Advisors

Tariffs, trade wars, and worldwide supply chain interruptions are putting companies of all sizes under increased pressure to become more resilient and rigorous with their procurement and logistics operations. While Fortune 500 companies are feeling pressure, they are also better positioned than smaller businesses to handle these challenges, given their financial resources, substantial technology investments, and market power.

Many owners of mid-size businesses, however, are discovering that the supply chain structures that have successfully served them for more than a decade are suddenly fragile when exposed to world events. With these companies now in a race against time to react – whether by finding new suppliers, altering terms, or getting a grip on the effects of tariffs on working capital, pricing, and profitability – there is a danger they will confront the current challenges as a triage exercise rather than as strategic inflection point.

By thinking big and creating a roadmap for the immediate, intermediate, and long-term, middle market firms can seize the moment and use the current supply chain volatility as a catalyst for long-overdue evolution.

Read the full Supply Chain Brain article here.