DP World: How Procurement Leaders can Mitigate Supply Risk

As climate-related disruption, geopolitical volatility, port congestion and customs delays spark major concerns across global trade, procurement teams are finding themselves at the frontline of managing constant supply chain challenges.

DP World has released its 'World Without Logistics: Global Report', bringing together the cost of disruption, sector-specific challenges and what companies are doing to ensure they stay ahead through strategic procurement and logistics partnerships.

Study key findings

The study has identified five major trends that directly impact procurement decision-making:

• disruption impacts regions differently, with the Global South facing the most disruption - 83% of firms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) say operational time is impacted by more than a month, compared to 50% in North America
• there are two major factors within disruption: chronic and catastrophic - high-volume sectors like perishables, healthcare and retail face constant shocks, whereas automotive faces less but more costly disruption
• resilience requires broad investment across the supply chain
• disruption damages customer relationships - most regions report 80-95% increase in customer complaints following disruption
• there is alignment on resilience from C-suite and below - 81-89% expect higher investment in AI, robotics and automation.

"The responses from surveyed companies paint an unsettling picture of disruption that is no longer exceptional but common," explains Beat Simon, Chief Operating Officer for Logistics at DP World.

"The consequences of geopolitics, climate events, labour shortages, congestion and critical infrastructure failures are keeping cargo owners in firefighting mode with little time to recover."

Procurement challenges across regions

Different regions face varying scales of disruption, requiring procurement teams to adopt region-specific strategies.

North American firms face disruption but have more resilience and see less brand impact. They are investing in logistics spend (65%) and in AI, automation and digital tools (78%).

Europe undergoes high disruption, with varying impacts. The UK and Germany are confident in their resilience strategies, but France faces more brand damage. 90% of German firms are confident with their partners, whereas only 41% of French firms say the same.

MENA is one of the most stressed regions, with 72% of firms losing more than one month of operational time annually and 43% reporting disruption costs exceeding US$1m.

"In many African and Middle Eastern gateways, a single extreme weather event or conflict flare up can ripple quickly through already tight networks," Beat explains.

SSA sees the worst disruption with the longest outages. 83% of brands report losing more than one month of operational time, with 86% reporting brand image damage. However, 97% plan to invest in logistics and AI.

All supply chain, sustainability, Scope 3 and net zero leaders should attend:

• Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
• Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22

Co-located with Sustainability LIVE, these events brings together CSCOs, CSOs and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.
Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.

Strategic procurement investment priorities

The cost of disruption is a huge concern for procurement teams. For automotive, annual disruption costs reach US$13bn across 13,000 incidents per year, whilst retail experiences 18,000 incidents costing US$7.5bn.

Firms are tackling these losses through strategic procurement initiatives. The majority plan investments in supply chain and logistics over the next 12 months, particularly in AI, digital tools and diversifying logistics partners.

According to the report, 52% of companies lose more than a month of operational time each year, while 84% have seen increased customer complaints following disruption.

The financial impact extends beyond immediate operational costs. Companies are recognising that disruption erodes competitive advantage and damages hard-won customer loyalty, making procurement resilience a boardroom priority rather than simply an operational concern.

Investment patterns show a clear shift towards proactive rather than reactive strategies, with procurement teams increasingly empowered to make decisions that prioritise long-term supply chain stability over short-term cost savings.

Building resilience through strategic planning

"Without Logistics is not an attempt to predict the next crisis or claim that disruption can be eliminated with a few quick fixes," Beat adds.

"Instead, it offers a way of seeing the system as it is today: where disruption stress is highest, where momentum for change is strongest and what kinds of investment actually move the needle on resilience."

Priorities for change focus on building resilience strategies through strategic procurement planning. Leaders need to prioritise routes and markets where disruption causes the biggest operational damage, focusing on reliable infrastructure before adding technology.

The report emphasises that resilience cannot be built in isolation. Cross-functional collaboration between procurement, logistics, finance and operations teams is essential to create truly robust supply chains that can withstand both chronic pressures and catastrophic shocks.

Finally, procurement leaders need to consider their interactions with supply chain partners and customers to enable trust and ensure operations remain strong.

To hear from experts on supply chain excellence, come to Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: The Net Zero Event, co-located with Sustainability LIVE.

Here, you will be able to witness a Keynote Presentation by John Trenchard, VP Sustainable International Supply Chains, Europe Region at DP World, titled Leading the Shift: Sustainability, Scale and Competitive Advantage. This will take place on Day 1 of the event at 10:00am on the Sustainability stage. 

DP World is also sponsoring the Sustainable Supply Chains Panel Discussion on Day 2 of the event, at 2:20pm on the Procurement & Supply Chain Stage.