Top Concerns for Suppliers in Today’s Risk-Heavy Markets

If you rely on suppliers, you rely on their stability. And when things go wrong, the consequences don’t stop at the supplier - they impact your costs, reputation, compliance, and customers. 

In today’s environment, supplier risk is no longer a niche concern for procurement teams. It’s a business-wide issue.

According to Gartner, 89% of companies experienced a supplier risk event in the past five years.

Alarmingly, nearly two-thirds were slow to respond - often because they lacked a continuous framework to predict, assess, and manage supplier risk. 

That lack of visibility is dangerous, especially when your suppliers are facing a minefield of their own. 

Understanding the biggest concerns on your suppliers’ radar is a crucial part of modern supplier risk management. It helps you see warning signs earlier, assess risk more accurately, and act before issues impact your operations. 

1. Economic Instability

Suppliers are under growing financial risk. From inflation and interest rate hikes to erratic customer demand, many are facing cash flow constraints and reduced access to capital. For smaller vendors, this can threaten day-to-day viability. 

Why it matters: If a critical supplier goes under, it’s your continuity - and your customer promise - on the line. 

How to respond: Include financial stability in your supplier risk assessment process. Proactive checks can highlight red flags early. 

2. Supply Chain Bottlenecks

Ongoing delays in global shipping, raw material shortages, and limited production capacity continue to cause operational risk. Even if your direct supplier is steady, their own supply chain might not be. 

Why it matters: You may be exposed to second- or third-tier failures without even knowing it. 

How to respond: Use platforms like JOSCAR to gain insight into supplier networks and upstream risk exposure. 

3. Cybersecurity Threats

Digital transformation has created new vulnerabilities - especially among smaller suppliers with limited IT budgets. A breach at one partner can have ripple effects across your ecosystem. 

Why it matters: A supplier’s weak cybersecurity could expose your systems, your data, and your customers. 

How to respond: Build cybersecurity risk checks into onboarding and renewal cycles and ask for certifications or breach protocols. 

4. Sustainability and Compliance Burdens

Suppliers are navigating increasing pressure around ethical sourcing, sustainability, and safety compliance. Yet many struggle with duplicative audits and unclear buyer expectations. 

Why it matters: Their ESG or compliance failure becomes your reputational and legal liability. 

How to respond: Standardise requirements and reduce friction by using shared assurance frameworks like JOSCAR, which streamline reporting and improve consistency. 

5. Buyer Expectations and Fatigue

Buyers are demanding more documentation, faster responses, and deeper transparency - but many suppliers are already stretched thin.

The result? Missed obligations, strained relationships, and slow response to emerging risks. 

Why it matters: Tired suppliers make mistakes, miss red flags, or deprioritise your account. 

How to respond: Make it easy to do business with you. A structured, repeatable supplier risk management process builds clarity and trust on both sides. 

Supplier Risk Is a Strategic Concern - not Just a Procurement One 

PwC reports that 43% of executives now list supply chain risk among their top concerns for business growth.

That’s a clear signal: supplier health isn’t just a back-office issue - it’s a board-level priority. 

By understanding and addressing the pressures your suppliers face, you not only strengthen relationships - but you also build a more resilient, future-ready supply chain.