Securing and Safeguarding Sovereignty in Buyer–Supplier Relations: Towards an Integrated Risk Approach

In the current context of France’s reindustrialization, securing supply chains and ensuring business continuity have become critical sovereignty issues. The session on November 21 will explore the wide range of vulnerabilities - organizational, contractual, technological, environmental, and digital - that impact relationships between buyers and suppliers, particularly in strategic sectors such as the defense industry, operators of vital importance (OIVs), public services, and major industrial ecosystems.

Amid accelerated trade, growing logistical complexity, and the widespread adoption of emerging technologies (LLMs, critical telecommunications, automation, digital platforms), security can no longer be considered solely from a technical or IT perspective. It must be understood as a shared responsibility, carried collectively by all stakeholders and functions - procurement, logistics, production, legal, R&D, IT - and embedded throughout every stage of the supplier lifecycle.

This track will present a comprehensive vision of security, at the intersection of risk management, operational performance, and economic sovereignty. It will highlight concrete and cross-functional approaches to strengthen the resilience of critical supply chains, anticipate disruptions, manage dependencies, secure both physical and digital flows, and foster a shared culture of risk within public and private organizations.

A mid-day roundtable will bring together professionals from diverse fields—public procurement, logistics, industry, cybersecurity, and regulatory institutions—to share their perspectives on key levers for securing supply chains in volatile environments shaped by rapid innovation and the emergence of new regulatory frameworks redefining compliance requirements.

The day will conclude with an immersive role-playing exercise simulating a crisis in a strategic supply chain. This interactive session will allow participants to test their interdisciplinary coordination and rapid decision-making skills in realistic conditions involving physical disruptions, contractual breakdowns, and a cyberattack.