So-called “black swan” events have received quite a bit of coverage lately. The Sendai earthquake in March did not only seriously affect Japan’s economy, it also painfully exposed the fragility of global supply chains.

Standard & Poor’s recent downgrading of the U.S. (economy) to AA+ is another black swan event whose fallout continues to play out in the financial markets.

Both caught the attention of supply chain executives, all of whom undoubtedly thought: “What does this mean for my business?”

Of course, some have probably been sleeping better at night than others since these events first occurred, depending on how well they were able to respond to that question.

That’s the dilemma—how much planning and resources should be devoted to black swan events, when their likelihood is so remote? And, where does it stop? Should we also plan for solar storms and meteor strikes?

Barry Tarnef of the Chubb Group has an answer. In this month’s issue, he writes: “Sendai might have been an eye-opener…but it’s also possible that supply chain managers will interpret the disaster as a ‘black swan’ event—so unusual that day-to-day planning can’t anticipate such an event in any useful way. That isn’t so. With the unlikely exception of a disaster that destroys human civilization, there isn’t any risk so fearsome that it isn’t worth planning for.”

You’ll also find Gartner’s Supply Chain Top 25 for 2011rankings in this month’s issue, which reinforces the concept that today’s most successful supply chains have both resiliency and flexibility built in from beginning to end in order to react quickly to marketplace dynamics, as well as supply chain disruptions.

Also, for the fourth consecutive year, Apple has held the number one spot on the list. That’s quite an achievement given the competition. One hallmark of Apple’s success has been its ability to work with its suppliers to assure uninterrupted supplies of components for their products, sometimes to the chagrin of other electronics manufacturers who rely on the same suppliers.

For instance, Apple pretty much owns the supplier market for unibody metal notebook chassis, which means Intel and its partner PC makers may have to consider alternative materials for their new Ultrabook computers. And, that’s just one example; there are plenty others.

I believe there’s a correlation between Apple’s supply chain operations and the fact that the company was able to overtake Exxon Mobil (albeit briefly on August 9) as the world’s most valuable organization. Sure, thousands of people buy a lot of Apple products each day, but a well-designed supply chain, which can withstand ‘unlikely’ events, is always at work behind the scenes. 

Meanwhile, I have my own black swan event to share…my departure from WT100.

As my tenure draws to a close, I’m particularly proud of the effort and talent that has been instilled into this publication in recent years.

The ‘body of work’ that our staff has collectively created will stay behind and will be expanded upon by the next editor. At the same time, I am able to take a memorable, meaningful work experience, as well as the support and friendship of an outstanding publisher and colleagues, along with me to my next gig.

Thanks for sharing the pages with me over the past 12 years.