As Brexit transition planning continues, many UK and European businesses find themselves having to prepare for added supply chain and other business continuity headaches including rising costs and staffing issues. Here are a few of the ongoing concerns:

• Because of Brexit uncertainty, some businesses are passing on the increase in supply chain costs onto customers. 32% of UK businesses with EU suppliers have already increased their prices, while 41% plan to increase their prices in the future. And this could continue on to a spike in unemployment in the UK – 23% of UK businesses said they plan to reduce the size of their workforce to offset Brexit-related costs.
• Meanwhile, 65% of Irish businesses have reportedly not reviewed their supply chain to gauge the impact of Brexit.
• Long-term supply contracts are also seeing problems. 22% of UK businesses with EU suppliers are having difficulty securing contracts which run after March 2019, according to a Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply study. To mitigate these challenges, an increasing number of UK supply chain managers are looking to re-shore their supply chains back to the UK – 26% of supply chain managers with EU suppliers say they are looking for alternative suppliers inside the UK.
• Citing regulator uncertainty, regulatory red tape, and other concerns, almost half (48%) of the UK’s chemical firms expect to create additional legal entities in the EU for business continuity purposes, according to a Chemical Watch survey. Of companies with Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) obligations, 58% expect business disruption as a result of UK registrations ceasing to be valid.

DRI’s revolutionary, just-released supply chain management course doesn’t just impart a wealth of new information, it also delivers that critical knowledge in an innovative, new multimedia format. The course will cover strategies for managing business continuity in your supply chain and teach you how to apply supply chain management (SCM) to your business continuity management (BCM) program. You’ll hear from experts, view compelling video content, participate in interactive Q&As, and test your knowledge – knowledge that is critical to your employer as well as your professional growth. Click here for more information.

Also on the subject of business continuity issues in the UK, he BANG Annual Resilience Symposium is scheduled this year for May 16 in London. DRI’s Kelsey Rose and Lyndon Bird will cover their extensive research on the latest initiatives that you can use to help strengthen your own resilience program, and you will also be briefed on the most recent report from the their leading think tank, the Future Vision Committee.