Assessing strategies to mitigate the impacts of a pandemic in apparel supply chains

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught global businesses that a pandemic can put business dynamics in unforeseeable turbulence. The disruptions created by the pandemic in the apparel industry exposed the vulnerabilities of apparel supply chains (SCs). To recover the supply chain impacts (SCIs) during an unprecedented event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, apparel SCs need a robust framework that can identify, measure, and mitigate the severity of SCIs by assessing effective mitigation strategies. This study identifies 12 critical SCIs in apparel SCs during a pandemic and 17 mitigation strategies. To assess SCIs and mitigation strategies, a modified grey-based bi-level analytical network process (ANP) is proposed to deal with the complex relationship between the SCIs and mitigation strategies. A real-life case study is conducted from an apparel supply chain for validation purposes. The findings suggest that policymakers in apparel SCs should prioritize implementing government policies and financial aid to deal with increased material and operational costs, the sudden surge in the unemployment rate, cancellation of orders and delayed payment, and increased transportation costs during a pandemic. This study also contributes to the literature by providing a robust decision-making framework for practitioners to deal with the complexity of SCs during future pandemics.