SEO Meta Description: Learn how supply chain expert Kerim Kafoury turns business disruption into opportunity through strategic supplier relationships, proactive risk management, and adaptive thinking for long-term success.
What differentiates businesses that thrive in times of
uncertainty from those that merely survive? According to Kerim Kafoury, President and CEO of Atlas Network, it all comes down to mindset. While most companies consider disruption to be a permanent thing, successful organizations see it as fuel for innovation and growth.
“Inconsistency is the only constant in the supply chain,” explains Kafoury, who has been helping businesses deal with everything from pandemic shortages to tariff wars for more than two decades. It is this perspective that has shaped his approach to “controllable versus uncontrollable” factors in global sourcing.
Controllable factors include supplier relationships, quality standards, and delivery timelines—elements you can actively manage through contracts and operations. Uncontrollable factors? Epidemics, natural disasters, political upheaval, and trade conflicts that come without warning. The key is not to eliminate risk, but to build resilience that enables you to absorb shocks while maintaining momentum.
Table of Contents The
Three-Step Atlas Method
Turning Tariff Challenges into Strategic Wins
The Cultural Intelligence Factor
Three-step atlas method
Kefuri's company has developed a systematic approach that works across all industries and product categories. First, select the right supplier based on both quantitative criteria (years of experience in business, revenue level, certifications) and qualification factors (professionalism, responsiveness, reputation). This foundational step enables the trust necessary for collaborative problem-solving.
Second, keep an eye and ear on the ground. “Every production is a first time,” Kafoury stresses, explaining why even established supplier relationships require constant monitoring. Assumptions about consistency, he says, “tend to be disasters at scale, at scale.”
Third, implement third-party verification through independent quality control firms. This creates an unbiased check point that protects the interests of both buyer and supplier while also ensuring that industry standards are followed.
What makes this approach powerful is not just its systematic nature, but also how it provides flexibility in times of crisis. When disruption occurs, businesses with a strong supplier base can make changes quickly rather than struggling to build new relationships under pressure.
Turning tariff challenges into strategic wins
Consider how businesses responded to the recent tariff disruptions. While many companies viewed the additional costs as a pure negative, Kfury helped clients identify five strategic measures that often improved their competitive position. Some realized they had been underpricing products for years and used tariff pressure to justify the necessary price increases. Others found alternative materials that reduced costs while maintaining quality.
“Despite this disruption, there was ultimately a significant benefit,” Kafoury explains, describing how one paint company was forced to change packaging during the pandemic. Their new containers reduced costs and eliminated the 20% spoilage rate that had plagued their original packaging for years.
It’s an example of what Kafoury calls approaching challenges with “negativity with positive intention” — exploring worst-case scenarios thoroughly, not to breed pessimism, but to develop contingency plans that prevent problems before they happen.
Cultural intelligence factors
Perhaps most importantly, Kafoury emphasizes the need for cultural adaptability when working with global suppliers. "You have to behave like a chameleon," he explains, describing how Western businesses often expect the rest of the world to do things exactly the same way they do. This rigid thinking shuts out the innovative solutions that suppliers can offer.
Instead, successful global sourcing requires a mindset they call "being in Rome"—being open to different methods and materials that can improve your product in ways you never thought possible. The best supplier relationships become collaborative partnerships where both parties contribute expertise rather than just an order-taking arrangement.
How prepared is your business for the next change? Start by conducting proactive risk assessments with your existing suppliers and developing cultural flexibility that turns global challenges into local opportunities.
