How Decision Intelligence Strengthens Business Resiliency in Economic Turbulence

For years, the term VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) has been a familiar part of the business vernacular. However, in recent weeks, the emphasis has noticeably shifted, placing business resiliency at the forefront of strategic priorities. Uncertainty is no longer just a concept, but a defining force in decision-making. Trade policies shift with little notice, supply chains are in a constant state of flux, and geopolitical tensions introduce new uncertainties. For businesses, this means that traditional decision-making approaches—those based on rigid plans and siloed decision-making —are no longer sufficient. The companies that thrive embrace flexibility, real-time intelligence, and structured decision risk resiliency frameworks to navigate uncertainty effectively.

At the heart of this shift is Decision Intelligence (DI), a technology-driven yet fundamentally human-centered approach that enhances business resiliency. While AI, automation, and data analytics provide the speed and scale needed for modern decision-making, the true power of DI lies in its ability to bring the right people together, streamline collaboration, and structure decisions in ways that improve both speed and quality. In times of uncertainty, companies that can quickly coordinate stakeholders, execute structured responses, and continuously refine their strategies are the ones that emerge stronger.

Macroeconomic Volatility: The True Test of Business Resiliency

Rising policy uncertainty shapes the current economic environment, challenging business resiliency and making it difficult for companies to plan and execute long-term strategies. Recent fluctuations in trade regulations have exemplified this instability. The current administration will implement sweeping tariff adjustments, only to reverse course days later. This unpredictability has created ripple effects across industries, particularly in supply chain planning and investment decisions.

The latest U.S. Economic Policy Uncertainty Index reflects this growing volatility, showing a sharp increase in uncertainty over the past several months. After a period of relative stability, the index spiked dramatically. This has heightened concerns among business leaders and investors regarding the direction of fiscal, trade, and regulatory policies. Businesses that fail to account for these complexities often find themselves scrambling to react when disruption strikes. This leads to costly missteps.

In contrast, companies that integrate structured risk and resiliency decision frameworks into their operations position themselves to navigate these challenges. These frameworks focus on three key phases:

• Preparing for risks before they arise
• Responding effectively when disruptions occur
• Learning from past events to improve future decision-making.

At every stage, success is driven not just by data. It relies on decision-making that effectively integrates human collaboration, strategic coordination, and structured execution.

Building Risk Resiliency in Business: A Three-Phase Approach

Phase 1: Preparing for Uncertainty

Effective decision-making begins before the volatility unfolds. Continuously assess risks, identify vulnerabilities, and develop contingency plans to activate if conditions change. Companies that take a proactive approach don’t wait for uncertainty to become a crisis—they build scenario models, stress-test their strategies, and establish pre-coordinated decision-making frameworks and models in advance.

Take the example of a global CPG company that relied on Chinese suppliers for key raw materials. With tensions escalating around new trade tariffs, the company recognized the potential impact on its supply chain. Rather than waiting for the final policy announcement, it used Decision Intelligence tools to identify key decisions-to-be made (e.g., shifting raw material supply, Capex adjustments), model different scenarios, and identify which products would be affected under varying tariff levels.

But technology alone wasn’t enough. The company also established a “war-room” approach, bringing together key decision-makers from procurement, finance, and logistics. This cross-functional team ran pre-built decision models to simulate the impact of different tariff outcomes and developed structured response playbooks outlining exactly how they would shift suppliers, adjust pricing, and manage logistics under each scenario.

When the trade policies were finalized, the company didn’t need to scramble—it activated the right plan immediately, leveraging both data-driven insights and pre-coordinated human decision-making to execute a smooth transition.

Phase 2: Responding with Speed and Precision

Even the best-prepared companies can’t prevent every disruption. When uncertainty turns into reality, the ability to respond quickly and in a coordinated manner is critical. In the case of the CPG company, when the tariffs were officially enacted, it was able to immediately shift 30% of its raw material sourcing to Vietnam and India.

The company’s Decision Intelligence system provided real-time updates on tariff changes, ensuring that everyone had access to the same, up-to-date information. But just as importantly, the war-room team—already pre-coordinated and trained—came together instantly to execute the response. Instead of holding endless meetings to determine next steps, the team simply followed the structured decision playbook they had already agreed on.

This structured, human-led response meant that procurement teams activated alternate suppliers without delay, finance teams adjusted cost models based on real-time data, and logistics teams seamlessly rerouted shipments to new production sites. Technology accelerated execution, but human coordination ensured alignment and clarity.

Because of its structured response framework, the company avoided costly disruptions and maintained stable production while competitors faced weeks of uncertainty.

Phase 3: Learning and Adapting for the Future

The most resilient companies don’t just move past disruptions—they use them as learning opportunities to strengthen business resiliency and future decision-making. Once the tariff transition was complete, the CPG company conducted a structured post-mortem assessment.

Using Decision Intelligence tools, the team captured a detailed record of every decision made, the rationale behind it, and the ultimate outcomes. But rather than relying on an isolated data review, the company held structured debriefs with stakeholders across procurement, finance, and supply chain management.

This combination of quantitative analysis and qualitative human insights led to critical improvements. The company realized that certain suppliers could have been activated even faster with a clearer pre-approval process. It also identified gaps in internal communication that slowed pricing adjustments. As a result, the company updated its decision playbooks, streamlined approval workflows, and integrated predictive analytics to monitor trade risks more proactively going forward.r

By treating the experience as a learning opportunity rather than a one-time challenge, the company built a more agile, more resilient supply chain strategy—one that would provide a competitive edge in future trade negotiations.

Business Resilience Through Decision Intelligence

At every stage of risk resiliency—before, during, and after disruption—Decision Intelligence plays a transformative role by combining data-driven insights with structured human collaboration.

Before a crisis, DI brings the right people together in structured decision-making environments. It aligns key stakeholders on risk scenarios and response strategies. During a disruption, DI ensures rapid coordination. This eliminates confusion and wasted time by activating structured response playbooks and automating stakeholder workflows. After an event, DI captures both data-driven insights and human perspectives. This ensures that companies don’t just react to crises—they improve their decision-making for the future.

In an economic environment where unpredictability is the only constant, business resiliency depends on forward-thinking approaches. Businesses that continue relying on traditional decision-making models risk falling behind. The companies that will lead the future are those that blend AI-powered intelligence with human expertise to make decisions at the speed of change.

The question is: Is your organization structured to make decisions as fast as the world around you? If not, it’s time to rethink how Decision Intelligence can future-proof your decision-making process. Contact us to learn more.