This paper uses the results of a study of German logistics service providers' and industrial and commercial companies' supply chain risks (Straube and Pfohl, 2008; Pfohl et al., 2008b), to show the utility of ISM to structure risks and highlight interdependencies between them. To remain within the scope of this paper, the relevant part of the survey, which pertains to the ranking of the most important supply chain risks, has been used in this paper. The showcase underlying this research uses a virtual supply chain consisting of a focal industrial company, its first‐tier supplier and the first‐tier supplier's 3PL which is responsible for the transportation on the first‐tier's supply side. Only downstream risks will be considered.