How the healthiest P&L in the room can still be one supplier away from a crisis.

THE SIGNAL
Q1 2026 saw a record number of Belgian bankruptcies: 3,147 in a single quarter, the highest since 2013. Transport and logistics were hit hardest.

THE INSIGHT
The risk is not in your P&L. It is in your supply chain. A partner that quietly fails takes your delivery capacity. No warning. No signal. Until the trucks stop. For most CFOs, bankruptcy risk is not a balance sheet risk, it is a procurement risk.

THE ACTION
I advised my client to ask their own clients one question: do you know which link in your chain is under pressure? Why? Proactive recontracting costs a fraction of crisis management after the fact.

THE OUTCOME
On 1 June, that warning got a face: Ziegler Belgium filed for bankruptcy, triggered by the collapse of its French sister company. My client had already been asking their own clients the right question for five weeks: which supplier carries that same risk? By anticipating on their behalf, my client built trust before the crisis hit.