Kareem

Sure.

I mean, the supply chain is the most consistent, inconsistent market you could ever think of.

The only consistency is inconsistency.

And the problem is that you have this mixture of controllable and uncontrollable factors.

And the only way to really be disruption-proof is to be nimble and adept and agile and have plan B, C, D, and E.

Because in the end, if the supply chain can't deliver who is the ultimate consumer or customer, it breaks down all the way back.

So whether we're talking about a pandemic or we're talking about tariffs or a strike at the ports, whatever it may be, the ultimate fulfillment is to the customer at the end.

So the strategies that we always have to look at are really industry by industry, product by product to determine how to manage these things.

Ultimately, we should have learned a lot more, I think, as it comes to the global supply chain.

But hindsight's always 20-20.

And as soon as things calm down, everybody just kind of turned their attention to what was most in front of them.

And in doing so, you lose some of those fundamentals and those ideas, which is how to be robust, how to be resilient, how to have your alternatives in place.

And that ends up being the biggest level of disruption because you have all your eggs in one basket and things change.

And then how do you basically accommodate those changes?

So I would suggest, and we always are talking to our companies and brands that we speak to, about what are you going to do if there's no product available?

What are you going to do if your costs increase significantly or if your supplier just can't deliver anymore?

Do you have those plans in place?

And anybody who has a strong supply chain has a diverse supply chain.

regardless of what we're talking about, whether it's a pandemic or it's tariffs or whatever it may be.

The diversity of the supply chain is going to be the key to success.