THE GLOBAL Microsoft outage that occurred last Friday (13 November) highlighted the vulnerability of Western Australia's export supply chains to technology failures, with exporters of time-sensitive and perishable products facing potential disruptions to international shipments.
The Fremantle Chamber of Commerce said it had spent the morning of 13 November assisting distressed exporters affected by the outage, particularly businesses shipping seafood, meat and other perishable goods that rely on timely access to export documentation.
Chief executive Chrissie Maus said the disruption was more than an inconvenience, warning it could have significant commercial ramifications for exporters operating under tight deadlines.
"Export certificates are essential documents for international trade. Without the correct documentation, shipments can be delayed or prevented from leaving Australia," Ms Maus said.
Ms Maus said delays were particularly serious for products such as live lobster and other highly perishable exports, where even short interruptions could jeopardise shipments.
The Chamber said it had been working with affected businesses to identify alternative ways to access documentation and minimise the risk of consignments being delayed or stranded.
According to Ms Maus, the potential impacts extended beyond lost revenue to include food waste, disruption to logistics networks, damage to international trading relationships and increased financial pressure on exporters.
"Western Australia is an export powerhouse. Our businesses compete on a global stage and their ability to deliver products reliably is fundamental to our international reputation," she said.
The Chamber called for a broader discussion about digital resilience, business continuity planning and the dependence of critical trade documentation systems on global technology platforms.
"Our exporters cannot afford to have millions of dollars in trade held hostage by an email outage," Ms Maus said.
The Fremantle Chamber said on 13 November that it would continue supporting affected exporters and helping businesses maintain trade flows through alternative processes where possible.
Ms Maus said the incident demonstrated the need for stronger contingency measures to ensure Australian exporters can continue operating during major technology outages.