Beyond Speed: Agility as a Response, not a Reaction
Agility means moving with coordination, not just speed. In volatile markets, businesses outperform when finance and supply chain respond in sync using shared data, integrated planning, and real-time insight to act decisively and protect margin.
Agility is one of the most used – and misused – words in business. It’s often equated with speed, flexibility, or mindset. But in today’s volatile environment, it has a more practical meaning.
Agility isn’t about reacting faster. It’s about responding better.
Reacting is instinctive and often uncoordinated – a quick decision made because something has already gone wrong. On the other hand, responding is deliberate, informed and based on timely, connected insight. It’s fast – but not rushed.
This is especially relevant for businesses in retail-exposed sectors, where shifting demand, cost volatility and complex supply chains create pressure to adjust quickly – and across functions. When tariffs change overnight or demand softens unexpectedly, reacting too quickly – and in isolation – can do more harm than good. The businesses that maintain performance are those that respond, as a whole, with alignment and speed.
When planning models are out of step with the market
Many organisations still plan as though the world is stable – even though instinctively, as humans, we know that the next disruption is always around the next corner. Forecasts are built, budgets fixed and supply locked in. Adjustments happen on a quarterly cycle, not in real-time.
Unfortunately, volatility doesn’t wait for a review meeting. The result is a gap between what the market is doing and how the business is set up to respond. That lag shows up in mismatched supply and demand, mispriced promotions, missed margins – or decision paralysis.
It’s not just a supply chain issue or a finance problem. In many cases, it’s a structural challenge underpinning the business as a whole.
Most teams still work to their own timelines, using siloed data sets. When the supply chain department reacts to delays but the finance team is still forecasting against last month’s assumptions, risk increases – and spreads. And when commercial teams press ahead with a promotion that no longer holds margin, the impact compounds.
Many businesses claim to value agility, but in practice, it’s often applied in isolation. A supply chain team reroutes inventory. An IT team runs Agile sprints. A commercial lead adjusts a promotion mid-campaign. These moves might be fast and well-intentioned – but without coordination, the business as a whole doesn’t move any faster.
Agility only works when decisions are made with shared inputs and common context. Finance, operations and commercial teams need to work from aligned assumptions, using the same signals and adjusting in real time. That requires moving away from siloed planning toward integrated thinking – where visibility is shared, planning is continuous, and each part of the business is able to respond in step with the others.
The businesses that are building this capability aren’t necessarily faster everywhere – they’re faster where it counts, because their teams are aligned.
The gap between insight and action
At its core, agility is about narrowing the gap between insight and action. It is the ability to take informed steps quickly – not in reaction, but in response.
Most businesses already have the data and visibility they need into operations and performance. However, many still struggle to act on that information fast enough. Reporting is available, but planning remains static. Scenarios may be discussed, but they are not modelled in a way that enables real decision-making. The organisation can describe what just happened, but it cannot easily test what to do next.
Some have made progress, whether that be through the introduction of shorter review cycles, investing in planning tools, or improving coordination between teams. However, in many cases, these efforts are still treated as exceptions rather than standard practice. Agility continues to be something activated during periods of disruption, rather than something embedded into the day-to-day rhythm of the business.
What is missing is not intent; rather, it is the infrastructure and cadence to support ongoing, coordinated responsiveness.
The good news is that building this capability does not require a full transformation. It does not mean replacing entire systems or redesigning the organisation from the ground up. Instead, it requires a shift in approach – from trying to lock in a single view of the future, to continuously testing and refining different possibilities.
For the finance department, start with a proof-of-concept scenario model – something small, focused and practical that allows the team to evaluate options quickly before making a decision. Supply chain agility could mean shortening planning windows to respond more directly to known triggers, such as changes in tariffs, lead times, or demand patterns. In both cases, the goal is to move away from static forecasts and towards more flexible models that can be updated as conditions change.
Often, the most effective changes are also the simplest. This might include establishing shared planning assumptions across teams, agreeing on clear escalation points when conditions shift, or assigning ownership for cross-functional decisions. These are not large-scale transformations. They are practical steps – foundations that make it possible for agility to take hold and persist.
Agility is a competitive issue
Agility, ultimately, is not a mindset – it is a capability. In unpredictable conditions, efficiency alone is not enough. The businesses that perform best are those that can see what is happening, decide what needs to change and respond together – quickly and with confidence.
This capability does not emerge from culture alone. It is built with tools, data, planning discipline and behavioural alignment. It requires a move away from rigid workflows and toward more adaptive processes. It also means giving teams the insight they need, when they need it. And perhaps most critically, it requires finance and supply chain to be in sync – so decisions are made in step with the market, not after it has moved.
Volatility isn’t going away – but how businesses deal with it can change. The ones that respond with speed, coordination and clarity will be better placed to protect margin, manage risk and adapt to whatever comes next. Especially in retail-exposed sectors, agility is no longer a nice-to-have.
Rather, it’s the very foundation for staying competitive.
We are enablers of change and transformation in Supply Chain, Information Management, Financial Planning & Analytics, Management Consulting, Project Management, and Managed Application Services. Contact us to find out more about how we work with your teams or call 1300 841 048.
