Middle East Conflict - 3 weeks in (or more)

 There are definitely going to be people who say that the conflict in the Middle East has been going on for longer than 3 weeks.  

Some will say since 9/11.

Some will say since 1953 when the elected Iranian government was overthrown.

Some will say since 1919 and the "Peace to end Peace" and Sykes-Picot.

Some will say since Homeric times and the war against Troy... (Just listened to the Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood - very good).

And of course this by no means the only conflict in the world today - some "hot" wars and some less so.

So my question, is "why do we keep thinking that things will return to normal after this crisis"?

One thing we can see is that there is usually another, different crisis within a decade.  (and of course some crises are ones that just re-ignited).

So from a procurement point of view, we should not just assume that everything will be all right in the end.  Maybe it will.  But then there will be something else.

So how do we prepare and plan for this.

Lean supply chains and Just In Time have huge benefits, but are easily disrupted by global incidents.  Resilient or Agile supply chains are typically more expensive, but more robust.

I think the key thing is not to abandon your strategic approach (whichever it is) but to have in place contingency plans and options for when the next thing(s) come over the horizon.

And it will.

(but to be more optimistic, and we shall survive it, pretty much no matter what it is).