Resilience in supply chain management: lessons learned from disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The ravaging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains and its exposures of the vulnerabilities of the supply chain process has been examined in this paper. Importantly, the failure of supply chain resilience and the post-COVID-19 lessons necessitated the need to examine the need for resilience in supply chain management process. The paper examined the concept of resilience and its application in supply chain management, and covered strategies for developing resilience in supply chain management, which includes: identification and assessment of associated risks, diversification of supply chain channels, enhancing collaborations and effective communication among stakeholders, inventory management and supply chain flexibility, technology adoption and digitalization, scenario planning and simulations, as well as robust continuity planning. The paper also identified the challenges of supply chain resilience building. The paper provides valuable insights into how organizations can better handle future supply chain operations by considering the intrinsic development of resilience, which will enable them to better withstand and quickly recover from future disruptions.