A global Fortune 500 agriculture company was frequently caught off guard by unexpected issues and risks that could result in tens of millions of dollars in mitigation. It wanted to improve its foresight capabilities to identify early signs of risk before they met the threshold of Enterprise Risk Management.
THE CHALLENGE
Organizations today face a surge of regulatory, reputational, sustainability and stakeholder risks, many of which first emerge as hard-to-detect weak signals. Companies often lack the coordinated systems to detect these weak signals early, and the internal processes to elevate, prioritize and align actions to manage these risks. This was the case with a major global agriculture company that needed better foresight of issues that could impact their license to operate and the acceptance of their products around the world.
THE SOLUTION
Our firm implemented a customized horizon scanning program that improved organizational forecasting, minimized blind spots and improved communication across divisions. The program assembled a cross-functional team that included functions like regulatory affairs, issues management, public affairs, legal, stakeholder engagement, etc. to regularly identify and discuss impending risks. We applied a structured, risk-based lens to this program to help the company better evaluate the likelihood, time horizon and needed actions to prioritize mitigation focus. We also conducted risk analysis deep dives to identify weak risk signals associated with various part of the portfolio.
THE IMPACT
As a result of the horizon scanning program, more than 200 risks were identified over five years, reducing exposure to high-cost issues and crisis events, improving organizational forecasting and enhancing resilience and decision-making across the organization.
