Hormuz Is a Stress Test, Not a Black Swan Artwork

Resilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business Moving

Resilient Supply Chain is for supply chain, operations, procurement and technology leaders who need practical ways to manage disruption, reduce risk and keep business moving.

Each Monday, former SAP Global VP and technology futurist Tom Raftery speaks with the executives, operators, founders and innovators redesigning how goods, information and decisions move through global supply chains.

These are candid conversations about what works in practice—not polished PR narratives or vague predictions. Guests explain how they are responding to supplier failures, geopolitical shocks, volatile costs, capacity constraints, changing regulations and rising pressure to improve both performance and sustainability.

The podcast examines:
Faster planning and decision-making under uncertainty
Supplier risk, sourcing strategy and business continuity
AI, automation, visibility and operational intelligence
Warehousing, logistics and fulfilment performance
Scope 3 emissions, circularity and responsible sourcing
The systems, incentives and organisational changes needed to turn data into action

The central question is simple: what helps a supply chain withstand disruption, adapt quickly and continue serving the business?

New episodes are published every Monday at 7am CET. Resilient Supply Chain+ subscribers also receive bonus analysis, highlights and briefings on emerging industry trends.

Follow Resilient Supply Chain for practical lessons from the people solving real operational problems—and building supply chains that perform when conditions do not go to plan.

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Resilient Supply Chain — How Leaders Keep Business Moving

Hormuz Is a Stress Test, Not a Black Swan

May 15, 2026 • Tom Raftery • Season 2 • Episode 122

0:00 | 21:56

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What happens when one chokepoint stops being reliable, and global supply chains discover just how fragile “efficient” really was?

In this Resilient Supply Chain+ bonus episode, I unpack the fallout from the continued disruption of the Strait of Hormuz following the Xi-Trump summit, and what it means for supply chain resilience, sustainability, risk, data, visibility, and operational decision-making over the next 6–12 months.

This isn’t just an energy story. You’ll hear how disruption in Hormuz ripples into freight, fertiliser, food prices, industrial inputs, shipping insurance, data centres, and even semiconductors. We break down why energy shocks quickly become manufacturing shocks, why logistics reliability is being repriced, and why fertiliser disruption today could become food inflation months from now.

You might be surprised to learn how obscure inputs like sulphur and helium can become major supply chain risks. Sulphur links directly to fertiliser, copper leaching, nickel processing, batteries, EVs, and grids. Helium is critical for semiconductors, MRI machines, fibre optics, cryogenics, aerospace, and leak detection. Not exactly the stuff most boards discuss over coffee. They may need to start.

I also share a practical executive checklist: map chokepoint exposure, segment by criticality, revise lead-time assumptions, build intelligent buffers, diversify routes, review contracts, and treat energy security as supply chain strategy.

🎙️ Listen now to hear why Hormuz is not a black swan, but a stress test for resilient supply chains.

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I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's generous Subscribers:

Alicia Farag
Kieran Ognev
Gary Lynch

And remember you too can become a Resilient Supply Chain+ subscriber - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent episodes like this one and give you access to bonus episodes of topical, timely supply chain resilience analysis.

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I help leaders understand the forces reshaping global supply chains, from geopolitical disruption and climate risk to AI and real-time decision-making.

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