THE PROCUREMENT INTERVIEW
A big issue, Frank reveals, lies in replacing suppliers who are longtenured partners with capabilities built over decades, as opposed to months or years. In many cases, Jabil’ s existing suppliers have the resources and willingness to relocate operations to remain within the supply chain.
He explains:“ We’ re fortunate in many cases that suppliers have the wherewithal and means to shift with us, so they can move from China, for example, to somewhere else.”
The greater challenge arises when seeking entirely new suppliers which can meet Jabil’ s exacting standards and customer requirements.
Frank continues:“ It’ s the auditing; it’ s asking,‘ are they capable enough? Do we trust them enough?’ That takes a huge amount of time, effort and energy, but the good news for Jabil and our customers is that we’ re really good at it.”
Navigating perpetual turbulence Beyond tariffs, the past five years have delivered what Frank describes as“ probably the most disruptive period in supply chain history”.
The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, wars, floods, earthquakes and the Suez Canal blockage have all tested the resilience of even the most sophisticated operations.
28 February 2026