Vanessa Miller Of Foley & Lardner On What We Must Do To Create Nationally Secure And Resilient Supply Chains

An Interview With David Leichner

Conduct the necessary stress testing and properly vet the security strength of any supply chain partners, including suppliers, customers, third-party software vendors, and freight and logistics companies.

The cascading logistical problems caused by the pandemic and the war in Eastern Europe, have made securing a reliable supply chain a national imperative. In addition, severe cyberattacks like the highly publicized Colonial pipeline attack, have brought supply chain cybersecurity into the limelight. So what must manufacturers and policymakers do to ensure that we have secure and resilient supply chains? In this interview series, we are talking to business leaders who can share insights from their experiences about how we can address these challenges. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vanessa Miller.

Vanessa Miller is a litigation partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and Chair Manufacturing Sector — Automotive, as well as on the advisory committee of the firm’s Manufacturing Sector. She served as a former chair of the Detroit office’s Litigation Department. Vanessa’s practice focuses on a wide array of supply chain disputes, including breach of contract and warranty claims, automotive supply chain issues and maintaining continuity of supply, defending manufacturers against class actions, trade secret misappropriation claims and business torts.

Vanessa has successfully managed, litigated and tried cases in state and federal courts, as well as handled appellate proceedings. She has significant experience handling complex international arbitrations in various venues, including the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), American Arbitration Association (AAA), Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Inc. (JAMS) and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). Vanessa also has represented clients in commercial mediations, which have resulted in the early resolution of legal disputes and creative business solutions for parties continuing to do business together.

In addition to her litigation, international arbitration and mediation experience, Vanessa regularly counsels clients on various commercial contracts, supply chain agreements, supply chain shortages and related negotiations.

Prior to joining Foley, Vanessa was a law clerk to the Honorable Patrick J. Duggan, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about your background?

I am a litigation partner based in Detroit, Michigan that specializes in automotive and manufacturing supply chain disputes. I have been practicing for 18 years. In addition to litigating and arbitrating cases across the globe, I spend a good portion of my practice working with manufacturers on commercial issues, including contracts, pricing issues and risk mitigation in the supply chain.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I once had the opportunity to fly in a private jet for a critical stop-ship issue involving a plane engine manufacturer. Midway through the return flight the jet lost hydraulics and we had to make an emergency landing. It was the only time that I have ever been in a private plane and needless to say, a glamorous situation quickly turned terrifying.

Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I try to see challenges as growth opportunities: When I started my career, and even now, I try to do something each week that makes me slightly uncomfortable to ensure that I am still growing my skillset. I always tell my associates that it is okay to be nervous about something because it means you care, you just can’t let your nerves paralyze you.

Hard-working: A lot of time, you just need to roll up your sleeves and put in the hard work. I rarely worry that a litigation opponent is smarter than me, but never want to be opposite someone that is outworking me and my team.

A good sense of humor: I am in a career where I regularly “win” or “lose” for a living, but I am not a professional athlete. Even where my clients have great facts and case law on their side, they may decide to settle a dispute for strategic commercial reasons. It is important to have a good sense of humor to help weather the ups and downs.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I am publishing an executive handbook (to be published in 2022) Law of the Automotive and Manufacturing Supply Chain: A Handbook for Success. It looks beyond the law of the supply chain and considers the practical and commercial realities of navigating global supply chain issues.

In order to ensure that we are all on the same page let’s begin with some simple definitions. What does the term “supply chain” encompass?

At its most basic level, the supply chain is the term for the actions and participants that are required to deliver goods or services to an ultimate customer or consumer. The number of “links” in the supply chain depends on the complexity of the good or service being provided. Supply chain spans everything from raw material inputs to the finished goods provided to an end customer or consumer, including all of the transportation and labor required.

Can you help articulate what the weaknesses are in our current supply chain systems?

Increasingly, the links in a supply chain are interdependent, and one break in the chain can have disastrous effects. This is particularly true in a Just-In-Time (JIT), sole-sourced supply chain where inputs are ordered from a single supplier and delivered on an as-needed basis without the need for warehousing or inventory reserves. What makes this type of supply chain so efficient when things run smoothly, also makes it so fragile and breakable. The recent supply chain disruptions have resulted in buyers and sellers navigating uncharted territory regarding extreme price increases, record-setting inflation, production-threatening delays, and unprecedented attempts to re-negotiate longstanding supply agreements.

Can you help define what a nationally secure and resilient supply chain would look like?

It will necessarily be more expensive — at least in terms of investments that will need to be made at the outset. No supply chain can ever be bullet-proof, but a more secure and resilient supply chain will need to: (1) place significant investments in technology; and (2) be diversified.

• First, technology and innovation will be key drivers to meet this goal. With labor constituting such a high percentage of the cost increases companies are experiencing, a company may want to double down on technology and innovation that reduces headcount. We are already seeing companies making significant investments in artificial intelligence, robotics, co-bots, autonomous vehicles, last-mile delivery options, etc.
• Second, diversification of the supply chain will be critical. Having more diversified supply chains will ensure flexibility and sustainability needed to weather turbulent periods. Though this adds links to supply chains and will result in higher costs in the short-term, it can help ensure a business continues to function smoothly even in the event of price shocks, material shortages, or other disruptions.

My particular expertise is in cybersecurity so I’m particularly passionate about this topic. Can you share some examples of recent and notable cyber attacks against our supply chain? Why do you think these attacks were so significant?

• There is a ton of code going in and out of organizations. No company can entirely prevent against hacks and security breaches because they are constantly evolving.
• One recent example that comes to mind is the recent ransomware attack of the IT network of Expeditors, a company that coordinates freight and shipping logistics. When manufacturers already were working so hard to unclog freight and shipping issues, this created additional delays, bottlenecks and confusion.
• There was also the 2020 SolarWinds attack where hackers gained access to client data and then client systems.

What would you recommend for the government or for tech leaders to do to improve supply chain cybersecurity?

• Solutions need to be both proactive and reactive. Much software and technology is sourced third-party vendors. Governments and companies need to employ a fairly stringent vetting process to ensure that the third-party’s products are secure at the outset, as well as engage in periodic audits to test for weaknesses that cybercriminals may seek to exploit.
• Since it is impossible to have a supply chain without any risk of cyber attacks, governments and companies also need to have mechanisms in place to immediately detect hacks and intrusion, as well as an incident response plan to mitigate the impacts.

What are the “5 Things We Must Do To Create Nationally Secure And Resilient Supply Chains” and why?

Here are the top 5:

1) As explained above, diversify sources to improve resiliency.

2) Although not possible across all inputs and products, where possible, consider warehousing or maintaining some inventory to allow a buffer in the event that there are delays or disruptions. For example, the automotive industry was hit hard and still has not recovered from the global microchip shortage. Microchips are extremely tiny parts that could have been stored and banked, but instead were ordered on a JIT basis. Many other industries were not hit nearly as hard by this global shortage — for example, medical and pharmaceuticals — because they maintained some levels of inventory.

3) As explained above, incorporate technology and innovation into the supply chain to remove some of the risk factors.

4) Conduct the necessary stress testing and properly vet the security strength of any supply chain partners, including suppliers, customers, third-party software vendors, and freight and logistics companies.

5) Consider shortening the supply chain where possible. The farther that a raw material, component or assembly has to travel, the more opportunity for delay and disruption. I recently read an article where the head of procurement for a hot tub manufacturer explained that for a single hot tub, the parts travel a combined total of over 887,000 miles. That is a staggering distance and provides so much opportunity for something to go wrong.

Are there other ideas or considerations that should encourage us to reimagine our supply chain?

My clients always tell me that cost is king, and of course, it will always be a critical factor in companies’ decisions and supply chain strategies. However, there is a quantifiable benefit to having a more secure and resilient supply chain, even if it requires more investment at the outset and contingency planning.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

They can follow me on LinkedIn and subscribe to Foley & Lardner’s Dashboard Insights and Supply Chain Disruption Series.

This was very inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this interview!

About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is the Chairman of the Friends of Israel and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.