"Learn how leading companies go beyond cost-cutting to ensure continuing profitability.

For a moment last fall, a supply chain mishap threatened to spark a United States public-health disaster of gigantic proportions. Contamination at an overseas supplier held up 48 million flu shots — half of the nation's expected supply — and speculation briefly ran rampant. Would the flu season be as bad as last year's? How many people would get sick? How many would die? Would this alter the outcome of the presidential election? Because the media ended up primarily focusing on the political story — which never came to pass — it nearly lost the basic management lesson: When it comes to impacts on the market, your suppliers' missteps can be as dangerous as your own. Indeed, the story highlights a question many businesspeople should be asking: Isn't it time to pay attention to risk management in the supply chain? "