Channel Ecosystem 101 – What Is It and What Does it Take?

According to the latest research from NC State’s ERM Initiative, third-party and supply chain risks have vaulted into the top tier of executive concerns for 2025. Why? Because the threats are coming faster, hitting harder, and originating from outside your four walls. Your suppliers, technology partners, and even the cloud platforms you rely on can become the source of your next crisis. Disruptions are now structural, not episodic. A single weak link in your global network can send shockwaves through your entire operation—impacting everything from production schedules to brand reputation. The old playbook of reacting to the occasional “black swan” event just doesn’t cut it anymore. Control tower technology has emerged as the answer. But what exactly makes a supply chain control tower effective, and how can you choose the right solution for your organization?

China is rapidly expanding its legal reach to project regulatory power far beyond its borders. This is a response to internal political and economic pressures, and external challenges such as foreign tariffs and sanctions targeting China. China is determined to use the law to defend national interests – economic, political, and military. The result is an emerging extraterritorial regulatory regime that assets jurisdiction over foreign entities and activities outside of China, especially where China’s perceived national security or economic development interests are at stake.

How new strategies and technology are ushering in the era of the “super planner” Supply chain planning is a lot like sailing the seven seas. Historically, mariners only had a compass and the stars to navigate, which worked well for directional guidance but left sea conditions to chance. If a storm rose out of nowhere, they had no option but to sail directly through it. That’s what supply chain planning used to feel like: slow, reactive, and often at the mercy of forces beyond your control. Modern ships, on the other hand, have extensive technology to guide them. Radar, predictive weather models, and connected satellite communications not only alert ships about changing weather conditions in real time but also allow them to communicate with other ships in the vicinity. Legacy planning processes, with their rigid cycles and siloed data, were designed for calmer seas. But today’s global supply chains are more like navigating through a storm: unpredictable, fast-mo...