As the ongoing Iran conflict continues to weigh heavily on the economic outlook, the latest research from global supply chain and logistics consultancy, SCALA, warns that many UK businesses may be financially underprepared to withstand disruption.

Based on a survey of senior supply chain leaders, SCALA’s latest report, The Resilience Gap: Assessing the Risks and Readiness of Global Supply Chains, found that over half (52%) of UK businesses have only partly commenced strategies to avoid financial losses from supply chain disruption, while 14% have no strategies in place to mitigate serious financial impact.

The findings come as businesses face renewed uncertainty around energy prices, shipping routes, input costs and service continuity, with geopolitical instability continuing to test the resilience of global supply chains.

SCALA’s research also revealed several additional pressure points that could deepen financial exposure. The survey found that nearly half (47%) of businesses generate more than half of their sales from their top three customers – creating a significant revenue risk if disruption affects service levels or damages major customer relationships.

The report also revealed that 57% of businesses could not continue sales order processing or purchasing if their main system failed, while 52.4% say they are poorly prepared for war or political issues.

The findings suggest that many organisations remain exposed not only to operational disruption, but to the financial consequences that follow. A production delay, transport interruption, system outage or geopolitical shock can quickly feed through into lost sales, higher costs, cashflow pressure and weakened customer confidence.

Chris Clowes, executive director at SCALA, said:

“Every supply chain disruption, be it a minor transport issue or a full-blown cyberattack, is also a financial event. When goods cannot move, systems cannot process orders, or a key customer stops operating, the impact can quickly move from the warehouse or transport network into the accounts.

“Businesses are aware of the risks facing them, but too many are still only part-way through the work needed to protect revenue, cash flow, and service levels when disruption happens.

“Businesses should be stress-testing the financial impact of different disruption scenarios now. That means understanding where revenue is concentrated, where systems are fragile, which customers or products carry disproportionate risk, and what contingency options are commercially viable before the next shock arrives.”

SCALA’s report sets out practical actions to strengthen financial resilience. These include:

• Identifying where a business is most exposed, including key suppliers, transport routes, IT systems and major customers.
• Using scenario modelling to determine the likely cost of different disruption scenarios, such as a warehouse outage, supplier failure or transport delay.
• Putting contingency plans in place to protect cashflow, customer service and revenue if disruption occurs.
• Reducing over-reliance on a small number of customers, suppliers, products or locations.
• Reviewing which products, markets and customers are most profitable once the full cost of serving them is considered.
• Ensuring back-up IT systems are in place so orders and purchasing can continue if core systems fail.
• Making supply chain resilience a regular board-level discussion, with clear actions, owners and progress checks.

The findings come as SCALA prepares for its 23rd annual industry debate, which will examine who is driving supply chain innovation as businesses respond to an increasingly complex operating environment. To find out more and book a place, visit: https://www.scalagroup.co.uk/debates/scala-annual-debate-2026/

To read the full resilience report, visit: https://www.scalagroup.co.uk/new-scala-report-the-resilience-gap/