This paper performs an exploratory case study with Vietnamese timber firms, to discover what supply chain risks are perceived by companies. Emerging economies like Vietnam enjoy important advantages like low labour and production costs, access to internal resources, favourable geographic position and trading schemes issued by the European Union. Yet, diverse supply chain risks may hinder further growth, including risks related to access to supplies, compliance management, infrastructure, obsolete production machinery, and lack of skilled workforce. Compared to previous research, this paper contextualises existing knowledge in supply chain risks and mitigation strategies in an emerging economy like Vietnam. From a practitioner viewpoint, decision makers can boost the timber sector through targeted investments in modern infrastructure and adapting timber plantations to existing quality standards.