Weekly Special - The Myth of the Procurement Plan B

Howdy fellow nerds -

This week’s special focuses on the myth of the “Plan B” in procurement — and why most backups collapse the moment you actually need them.

How many times have you heard : “Don’t worry, we’ve got a Plan B.”?

And how many times have you seen how useless they really are? Because most “Plan Bs” aren’t worth the PowerPoint they’re written on.

They look fine in a steering committee.

They sound confident when you’re pitching risk management.

But the minute a port shuts down, a typhoon hits, or your supplier stops answering emails, those Plan Bs collapse into panic sourcing.

Last week I asked you what your Plan B is when Asia sourcing goes radio silent. The poll results looked neat:

Here’s the problem: all of these are still Plan As. Just with a different label.

And when reality bites, that’s not good enough.

So let’s deep dive on what a real Plan B looks like - and how to build one before you need it.

Case 1: Switching Countries

It feels like the boldest move. China shuts down? Go Vietnam. India stumbles? Go Malaysia.

But it’s a reset button:

• New lead times.

• New compliance checks.

• New cost structures.

At the exact moment when you’ve got neither patience nor budget for resets.

What to actually do:

Set up dual-country sourcing before you need it.

If you rely on South China, divert at least 15–20% of volume into Eastern Europe or Mexico now.

That way when disruption hits, your “alternate country” is already part of your supply chain.

Case 2: Same-Region Backups

A second supplier in the same region feels like insurance. But they share the same risks: strikes, tariffs, typhoons.

Remember Shanghai’s 2022 lockdown? Companies with “backups” in Jiangsu discovered their suppliers were also paralyzed by closed highways.

What to actually do:

Think regional diversification, not city clustering. South China + Thailand. Northern India + Vietnam. Backups need to live outside the same blast radius.

Case 3: Emergency Sourcing

The adrenaline shot. Quick, dirty, expensive.

When one global tech firm needed 300 laptops overnight during COVID chaos, they paid a 42% premium.

It fixed the crisis, but procurement was branded “too expensive” for months.

What to actually do:

Keep a shortlist of pre-negotiated emergency suppliers.

Yes, you’ll still pay extra, but at least you cap the damage instead of bidding against desperation.

So, what’s a real Plan B?

• Signed contracts with suppliers who already get some of your volume.

• Tooling and documentation ready, not theoretical.

• Regular stress tests to see who actually picks up the phone.

• Clear governance on when to flip the switch.

If you’re still asking “what now?” when disruption hits, it wasn’t a Plan B. It was a bedtime story for your steering committee.

Procurement isn’t about writing contingency slides. It’s about building leverage you can activate.

So here’s my challenge to you:

When was the last time you stress-tested your Plan B — instead of just writing it down?

Want to go deeper?

I built a full Asia Risk Playbook that maps out country-by-country risks, sourcing blind spots, and practical backup strategies for buyers who don’t want to scramble when things break.

👉 Grab your copy here: Asia Risk Playbook on Gumroad

Stay nerdy, and remember — the only good Plan B is the one you’ve already tested.

Until next time,

Zvi