May Resilience Be With You, Because Risk Sure Is

Tomorrow signifies different things to different people around the world. It’s the day the Chinese celebrate their youth, the Dutch remember the victims of war and conflict, and the people of Latvia commemorate their independence from the USSR.

The date has another significance that transcends national boundaries, however. May 4 is the day that “Star Wars” fans around the world celebrate their affection for the long-running and hugely successful science-fiction franchise.

Like all great adventure stories, every one of the “Star Wars” movies is full of risk. The heroes and heroines of the series must overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to ensure that good prevails in the face of evil.

Of course, the Jedi have the force on their side. Even a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, however, success depended on many of the same practices that apply on Earth today:

• Access the right data. In the 1977 original “Star Wars,” the rebel force must attempt to destroy the largest and most powerful weapon ever built. Outnumbered and outgunned the task seems impossible, but for one decisive advantage. Our heroes have a detailed map of their target allowing them to identify, and ultimately exploit, it’s only weakness.
• Use local knowledge. Two films later in “Return of the Jedi” another daring plan seems doomed to failure, with our heroes ambushed and pinned down on an alien world. It isn’t targeted firepower that saves them here, but an alliance with the indigenous population, who apply their forest skills to overcome and destroy the Empire’s troops.
• Have your contingency plans in place. Plan A doesn’t always work out in a “Star Wars” movie. In fact, it often places the heroes in more jeopardy than they were at the start. From Luke Skywalker to Poe Dameron, the principal characters of the series each take a similar journey, from youthful impulsiveness to mature premeditation. Over time, our heroes learn by hard experience that they must assess the risks, weigh the options and adjust their plans, even if that means retreating to fight another day. This is a journey companies on Earth experience every day, and those that navigate it wisely will survive and thrive.

At DHL Resilience360, our aim is to bring the power of advanced digital technologies to provide procurement and logistics leaders the right data for their supply chain — including locally sourced intelligence from DHL’s network across 220 countries and territories — to enable them to build up contingency plans and ultimately drive their global supply chain risk management efforts. Resilience360 has been built to help you map your territory, understand the situation on the ground and outmaneuver any potential disruptions.

If you are interested in learning more, visit https://resilience360.com. But for now: May the Force — and the Resilience — be with you!