1. Suppose that Gigi Lee Chang asks you to make a recommendation on the decision she faces concerning the delivery of the organic cheese for her company’s production run. What do you tell her? Explain your reasoning.
2. What steps can Chang and Allison take to manage the risks in the supply chains for their businesses?

Fifty years ago, business was more localized than it is today, and companies had more control over their supply chains and faced less risk of supply interruptions. If one supplier failed to deliver goods or materials, a company usually could find a nearby supplier to fill the order with very little delay. Today, a global economy means that supply chains are longer and more complex; companies all across the globe buy and sell products to other businesses, and the logistics of those deliveries must be choreographed as carefully as an
elaborate dance. A glitch at any point in the process often causes ripples—and problems—throughout the remainder of the chain. Natural disasters, labor strikes, dangerous ingredients, faulty products, political instability, terrorism, piracy, and a host of other problems threaten companies’ supply chains. A recent study by McKinsey and Company reports that 77 percent of executives say that the amount of supply chain risk their companies face has increased in the last 5 years. More than half of these executives admit that their companies have not addressed the factors that pose the greatest risk to their supply chains.