Recent history has brought unprecedented levels of risk to Rolls-Royce; the aerospace sector was severely impacted by the pandemic, with demand decreasing overnight. In response, more than 8,000 employees left Rolls-Royce – many from procurement – and the company’s supply chain was forced to cut investments, lose staff and remove inventory.

Risk levels have remained very high while demand for Rolls-Royce products has continued to rise in parallel. Bolstering the company’s risk and resilience capabilities during 2023 was, therefore, essential. Its procurement and supplier management teams launched a comprehensive external risk management improvement programme during 2023 focusing on improvements in six key areas:

• Risk identification and prioritisation
• Mitigation planning.
• Event recovery management.
• Risk management processes.
• Enhancing external benchmarking and intelligence.
• Underpinned with increased supply chain engagement.

Several key scenarios have already put its revised approach to the test, but ultimately, Rolls-Royce made significant enhancements to its risk management capabilities that will enable both the company, and its supply chain, to succeed into the future.