DELIVER Asia 2026 Conference Recordings

Global supply chains have entered a new era where disruption is no longer an occasional crisis but a constant operational reality.

Speaking at DELIVER Asia 2026 in Singapore, Travis Brooks-Garrett, VP Logistics (Oceania) at DP World, argued that retailers must fundamentally rethink how their supply chains are engineered.

Drawing on a global study involving 80 CEOs, he highlighted how supply chain disruption has become one of the most pressing concerns for businesses navigating global trade volatility.

While economic uncertainty, rising trade costs and policy instability all affect supply chains, disruption itself remains the central challenge shaping global logistics.

During the COVID pandemic, supply chains moved to the centre of corporate strategy.

Chief supply chain officers suddenly found themselves participating in board discussions, shareholder briefings and crisis response planning.

However, Brooks-Garrett noted that despite this intense focus, relatively few companies made fundamental structural changes after the pandemic.

Research showed that only 35% of supply chain executives significantly redesigned their supply chains following the disruptions experienced during COVID.

Many organisations eventually returned to their previous operating models, leaving them exposed to the next wave of global disruption.

The scale of the problem is substantial.

According to the research presented, companies experience more than 18,000 logistics disruptions annually, with each event costing an average of approximately $420,000.

Across global supply chains, disruption-related losses amount to roughly $7.5 billion per year.

Beyond the financial impact, disruptions also affect customer experience and brand reputation.

When products are delayed or unavailable, the issue is no longer limited to logistics operations — it becomes a consumer-facing problem.

In fact, 78% of businesses report increased customer complaints following supply chain disruptions, demonstrating how operational failures quickly become brand challenges.

Brooks-Garrett also addressed the latest geopolitical developments affecting global trade.

Events in the Middle East are already reshaping global shipping patterns, with carriers suspending services to certain ports, rerouting vessels, and introducing additional surcharges.

Air traffic routes are also being affected, with around 18% of global air traffic impacted by regional instability.

These disruptions create cascading effects across supply chains, including higher transport costs, changing commodity availability, and increased port congestion.

Energy supply routes are also vulnerable. For example, key maritime corridors handle a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, meaning disruption can influence both energy prices and downstream manufacturing inputs.

One familiar consequence of supply chain disruption is the bullwhip effect.

Retailers respond to uncertainty by increasing safety stock, typically holding several weeks of additional inventory.

When this behaviour occurs simultaneously across multiple organisations, the result is congestion across the entire supply chain — from ports to warehouses.

Ironically, warehouses may then become overloaded with slow-moving inventory rather than the products that customers actually need.

This dynamic was clearly visible during the pandemic and is likely to reappear during future global disruptions.

Brooks-Garrett emphasised that supply chain disruption should no longer be treated as an unpredictable anomaly.

Instead, it should be viewed as a structural condition of global commerce.

Disruptions can arise from a wide range of events, including natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, trade policy changes, or biosecurity incidents.

Because these disruptions occur every year in different forms, companies must build supply chains capable of adapting quickly.

Key strategies include:

• greater supply chain visibility

• supplier and sourcing diversification

• regionalisation of supply networks

• operational flexibility across transport modes

• digital and AI-enabled logistics monitoring

These capabilities allow organisations to respond more effectively when disruption occurs.

DP World’s strategy focuses on integrating physical logistics infrastructure with digital platforms.

The company operates port terminals, trucking fleets, warehouses and freight services across more than 80 countries, handling around 10% of global trade through its port assets.

By investing across multiple layers of the logistics ecosystem, DP World aims to create integrated networks capable of maintaining trade flows even during periods of disruption.

This approach also enables closer collaboration between asset owners and supply chain users, reducing reliance on intermediary logistics models.

The Asia-Pacific region remains the core engine of global retail supply chains.

It serves both as a major manufacturing base and an increasingly important consumer market.

However, Brooks-Garrett warned that this same central role also makes the region highly vulnerable to disruption.

When supply chain shocks occur in Asia-Pacific, the effects quickly spread across global retail markets.

Brooks-Garrett concluded with three clear messages for retailers.

First, Asia-Pacific will continue to dominate global retail supply chains as both a sourcing region and a consumer market.

Second, supply chain disruption should be treated as a structural, recurring challenge rather than an exceptional crisis.

Third, integrated logistics solutions — combining physical assets with digital capabilities — provide one of the most effective pathways for improving resilience.

For retailers navigating an increasingly unpredictable global trade environment, proactive supply chain design is becoming a competitive necessity rather than a strategic option.