In exchange, they are prepared to offer permanent residence for EU citizens and a clear budgetary commitment regarding their liabilities. Overall, therefore, the chances of reaching a deal might be better than they appear at the moment. 4 Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst Given this calm assessment of mine, some may conclude that firms could simply sit back and wait.
After all, supply chains are complex network structures rather than chains, so that weaknesses in single, remote links may endanger the whole structure. Future strategic decisions may be rather guided by safety and resilience considerations than purely be based on efficiency grounds. Upstream bottlenecks should be identified and avoided by broadening the supplier base to improve resilience.