A Yule Blog: Disastrous procurement risk management could lead to untold grief

We have discussed Procurement Risk Management quite a bit in recent months and today, of all days, I would have hoped to have set that discussion aside. Unfortunately, although there seems to have been some flaws in the Mayan Calendar evaluation model the adverse impact of its predictions have now started to manifest themselves in the supply chain.

Personally, I was absolutely certain that predictions of the end of the world would prove wrong. I found it mildly amusing that shamans were casting spells on Friday to hold back the end of the world. Nevertheless, for some it will be reassuring that the intervention of the shaman business consultancy (SHAM & Co.) proved effective!

However, on a more serious note, I have now discovered that there was a major industrial dispute, well hushed up, that is causing unpredicted chaos in supply chains. Apparently a previously highly productive team of workers, the Elves, downed tools some months ago and rather than singing "Whistle while you work", reverted to R.E.M'.s "It's the end of the world as we know it".  Rumours abound that production of toys has been frozen since this time last year in Lapland but there has been evidence of a displacement to the Amazon. Tonight was the delivery date scheduled for global despatch, but all that is up in the air now. No one was available to comment from either the UN or indeed a spokesperson representing the Elves. It is understood the Elves feel more than a little aggrieved too - their view being that they were told a major strategic risk had been identified (the end of the world) and being very risk averse considered it was inappropriate to invest more time in the fruitless task of toy-making. It was impossible to get a coherent answer from dyslexic CEO Santa who just kept muttering "oh, oh, oh, ..."

No one knows what will happen tonight but Bruce Springsteen has requested that no one play his hit "Santa Claus is coming to town".  

Here's hoping all goes well and the last minute mitigation plans all come together. Just in case, enjoy this message from Northern Ireland