From Supplier Risk to Customer Resilience

“Even a relatively inexpensive component can create a major disruption if it stops an entire system.” That observation from Howard Walfield, Director of Supply Chain Risk Management for the Americas region at KION, gets to the heart of supply chain resilience.

For customers, the reliability of a forklift, automated warehouse or complete material handling solution depends on far more than the components they can see. A direct supplier may appear stable, while further upstream a single factory, raw material source or transport route can become a critical point of failure.

The Bigger Picture

A truly resilient supply chain therefore not only depends on suppliers – but increasingly on the suppliers behind those suppliers. That makes it essential to keep a close eye on the bigger picture. For us at KION, sustainability is part of the overall risk picture – not a separate box to tick. That’s why we rely on systematic supplier sustainability and risk screening.

“We take a 360-degree approach, looking at financial, operational, geopolitical, cyber, and sustainability risk together, then quantifying the potential impact,” Walfield explains.

Connecting the Dots

In practice, that means looking at a broad range of factors rather than relying on a single risk score. We assess both the individual supplier and the wider network behind it, with particular attention to:

• Financial stability – Is the supplier in a position to remain reliable over the long term?

• Operational resilience – Are production capacity, processes and logistics robust enough to cope with disruption?

• Upstream dependencies – Are there critical single-source suppliers, raw materials, production sites or transport routes further down the chain?

• Geopolitical exposure – Could regional instability, trade restrictions or regulatory changes affect supply?

• Cyber risk – Are systems, processes and data sufficiently protected?

• Sustainability and compliance – Are environmental, social and regulatory requirements being met?

• Transparency and data quality – Do we have reliable information to assess risks and track developments?

• Corrective action – If a risk is identified, are there clear measures to address it and monitor progress?

Stronger Together

This approach does not stop at Group level. KION’s operating units and brands benefit from the same central procurement expertise and shared view of supplier risk. Dematic is a good example: are supported by KION Global Procurement, giving the business broader visibility into supplier strengths, weaknesses and emerging risks.

“Dematic benefits from a central procurement structure under our parent company KION,” says DeAnn Hargis, Sustainability Director at Dematic. “The unique strength of our sustainable procurement is not just a Dematic strength, it’s shared across our sister brands.”

Why It Matters

For customers, that shared structure adds another layer of assurance: supplier risks can be monitored across a broader network, information can be shared across the businesses, and potential issues can be addressed before they affect delivery, installation or system performance.

In the end, supplier sustainability and risk screening are not just procurement disciplines – they are part of what makes reliable customer delivery possible. By identifying vulnerabilities early, looking beyond direct suppliers and combining sustainability with financial, operational, geopolitical and cyber risk, we can act before potential issues become real disruptions.

Prevention Pays Off

For our customers, that means greater confidence in delivery and installation schedules, more reliable system performance and fewer costly surprises over the lifecycle of a project. In short: a more resilient supply chain on our side helps create more resilient operations on theirs.