ABSTRACT

At Cisco Systems, anticipating, preventing, and responding to volatility and risk is a guiding principle of its supply chain operation. The company is in the vanguard of organizations that are embedding volatility management into the very heart of their global supply chain operations. This case study looks at why Cisco’s top management-from CEO John T. Chambers on down-considers this approach to be vitally important; what steps the company has taken to make volatility/risk management an integral part of its operation; and how Cisco has benefited from building a highly responsive, flexible supply chain structure.