Calix is an AI and cloud-based platform company serving communications service providers. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Calix operates globally with approximately 2,000 employees. The company supports a broad range of service providers—from regional and rural broadband operators to some of the largest communications providers— helping them deliver innovative subscriber experiences.
Challenges faced
At Calix, Lisa Boucher, Director of Supply Chain Sustainability and Risk Management, recognized that the company needed a more scalable way to manage supply chain risk amid component volatility, global disruptions, and increasingly complex supplier networks. The company operates in an environment where availability of critical components like DRAM memory can be constrained, and where performance depends heavily on a network of contract manufacturers, ODMs, logistics partners, and limited-source suppliers.
At the same time, teams were working across multiple tools and data sources to understand supplier, operational, financial, and ESG risk. This fragmentation made it difficult to get a complete picture quickly and created friction for commodity managers balancing cost, availability, and delivery pressures. Calix needed a way to unify these signals into a single, usable workflow. Ultimately, the goal was not just better visibility, but a shift in operating model—from reactive, manual disruption management to a more proactive, scalable approach that could support faster, more confident decision-making.
At its core, the challenge came down to:
- Limited visibility beyond tier 1, especially across EMS and ODM relationships
- Fragmented risk data and manual follow-up, slowing supplier engagement and impact assessment
Calix also needed to address the organizational side of the problem. Risk management could not remain a side activity. To make the program sustainable, the team required leadership backing, a clearer operating cadence, and supplier accountability embedded into quarterly business reviews—not just activated during disruptions.
“
We needed to move faster from signal to action. That meant getting clearer visibility beyond tier 1 and a more structured way to engage suppliers when disruptions happen.”
Lisa Boucher
Director, Supply Chain Sustainability and Risk Management, Calix
The solution
Calix used Resilinc to build a more disciplined risk operating model centered on supplier-validated sub-tier and part-site visibility, disruption monitoring, supplier assessments, and what-if scenario planning.
The company embedded ESG and risk into supplier scorecards, set a 24-hour expectation for suppliers to confirm whether an event created impact, and established a regular cadence for suppliers to maintain site, contact, and component data.
Calix also used the platform to consolidate broader risk signals into a single working view, reducing reliance on multiple tools and improving usability for commodity managers. This shift helped Calix move from ad hoc reaction toward a more proactive and predictable operating model.
The results
Resilinc helped Calix transform supply chain risk management into a repeatable supplier engagement process rather than a manual scramble. Today, the company runs quarterly business reviews with its most important direct suppliers—representing roughly 85 percent of revenue—and risk is part of the conversation every time. Suppliers are evaluated based on responsiveness to event notifications, completion of requested assessments, and the accuracy and timeliness of their data.
That operating discipline translated into measurable improvements:
- A defined supplier response expectation of 24 hours for disruption notifications
- Weekly responsiveness reporting, giving commodity managers earlier visibility into supplier engagement and escalation needs
- Quarterly reviews that reinforce ESG and risk performance as core components of supplier performance
In a recent what-if exercise involving Calix’s top 11 suppliers, most participants responded within approximately four hours, providing a clearer view of response readiness under simulated disruption conditions.
Risk information is also more actionable, as teams can now evaluate supplier, event, financial, and sustainability signals within a more unified workflow. Just as importantly, suppliers understand that Calix treats risk management as a priority. The organization has moved away from reactive, “chaotic” response toward more proactive mitigation strategies—improving both speed and consistency in how potential impacts are assessed and addressed.
24 hours
supplier response expectation for impact confirmations
Top 11
suppliers tested in a recent what-if exercise
~4 hours
response time achieved by most top 11 participants
Resilinc’s Impact
By partnering with Resilinc, Calix has evolved from a largely manual, reactive process to a more structured and collaborative risk program—one defined by deeper supply visibility, clearer supplier accountability, and faster cross-functional response.
The partnership is also shaping what comes next. Lisa Boucher has emphasized that the goal is not just better reporting, but better decision-making—leveraging historical data, real-time risk signals, and AI-driven workflows to determine the best course of action and improve overall supply chain predictability.
“
In a complex supply environment, we saw that our disruption response process was too manual. Teams had to work through tier-1 suppliers for deeper visibility and then consolidate updates for stakeholders. It became clear we needed a more streamlined approach to move faster from signal to action.”Lisa Boucher
Director, Supply Chain Sustainability and Risk Management, Calix
See agentic AI in action
Proactive supply chain resilience starts with trusted visibility. Schedule a demo to see how Resilinc helps organizations identify exposure sooner, coordinate response faster, and reduce disruption risk.