LONDON — For chief executives and business owners around the world, the Iran war is hammering home an essential reality that they are operating in a world that is riskier and more unpredictable.
And that also means more expensive. Even if the attacks end, the increased cost of doing business will linger. Higher prices look to be a long-lasting side effect of the war in Iran.
Every business leader is saying, “I need to get myself options,” said Kevin O’Marah, chief research officer at Zero100, a firm that does research on supply chains. The urgency is felt by executives across sectors from pharmaceuticals to clothing to electronics.
That means having alternative manufacturers in other locales, stockpiling goods in case of unexpected stoppages and developing new supply chains.
“Flexibility is additional plant capacity, it’s additional pockets of inventory, it’s alternate routes,” he said. “But that flexibility costs money. And that’s inherently inflationary.”