Aligning supply chain design for boosting resilience

Abstract

Many researchers have analyzed the effect of disruptive events, such as natural disasters and economic and market forces, on global supply chains. However, there is a lack of consensus on delineating a universal collection of supply chain risk management practices that will help companies operate in a global market with large-scale disruptions. In this article, we present an analysis, in conjunction with a worldwide online survey, based on successful global brands and their supply chains. We propose a framework that deploys the dynamics of building supply chain resilience, first linking the design of the supply chain portfolio (local versus global scope, as well as strategic responsiveness versus cost reduction) with supply chain vulnerabilities (external versus internal). We describe the transition between different supply chain structures as a way of coping with disruptions and thus proactively developing resilience. In this article, we introduce both a supply chain risk management approach and the reactive-by-deployment mode, as illustrated by successful global company examples.