Supply Chain Risk Management

In recent years the issue of supply chain risk has been pushed to the fore, initially by fears related to possible disruptions from the much publicised “millennium bug”. Y2K passed seemingly without incident, though the widespread disruptions caused by fuel protests and then Foot and Mouth Disease in the UK, and by terrorist attacks on the USA have underlined the vulnerability of modern supply chains. Despite increasing awareness among practitioners, the concepts of supply chain vulnerability and its managerial counterpart supply chain risk management are still in their infancy. This paper seeks to identify an agenda for future research and to that end the authors go on to clarify the concept of supply chain risk management and to provide a working definition. The existing literature on supply chain vulnerability and risk management is reviewed and compared with findings from exploratory interviews undertaken to discover practitioners' perceptions of supply chain risk and current supply chain risk management strategies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions in global supply chains with unforeseen and unpredictable consequences. However, the pandemic was not the only reason why supply chain risk management has become more crucial than ever before. In the last decade, the occurrence of previously merely theoretical risks has emphasised the importance of risk management in supply chains. This has increased interest in risk assessment and management, COVID-19 and other disaster impact studies and proposals for more stable and resilient supply chains. This article addresses the problem of transport risk in supply chains in the context of COVID-19. Particular attention is paid to quantitative approaches. Identifying and quantifying risks and modelling their interdependencies contribute to the stability of the supply chains. The analysis presents the current state of knowledge and can serve as a guide for further research. It highlights transport risk management in supply chain management as an important area of investigation. In light of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the article proposes an approach to transportation risk assessment based on quantitative assessment and interconnection of risk factors.

Over the last ten years, supply chain vulnerability (SCV) and its managerial counterpart supply chain risk management (SCRM) have received considerable attention by practitioners as well as academics (see for reviews Jüttner 2005; Peck 2006). Disruptions in global supply chains caused by a sequence of large scale environmental, political and company-driven events provide vivid illustrations of the entwined global marketplace that characterize today’s supply chains. At the same time, they have demonstrated the limitations of conventional risk management approaches emerging from a single company context. However, supply chain risk management approaches must have a broader scope than that of a single organization in order to capture the risks caused by the linkages among multiple supply chain parties and their subsequent ripple effects. Thus, based on the consensus in the literature that a supply chain at its simplest degree of complexity comprises at least three entities: a company, a supplier and a customer (Mentzer et al. 2001), it has been suggested that any approach to managing risks in the supply chain should adopt the same cross-company, supply chain orientation (Jüttner et al. 2003; Ziegenbein 2007). This condition increases the complexity of the managerial approaches sought as well as the resource requirements for their successful implementation. As a consequence, it appears that mainly large companies that typically have substantial control over supply chain activities and possibly act as the ‘channel captain’ are in position to effectively manage supply chain risk. The few existing contributions reporting on companies’ experiences with the implementation of SCRM seem to support this view. They seem to focus on large, international enterprises with abundant know how and financial resources such as the telecommunication provider Ericcson (Norrman and Jansson 2004). For small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), which are increasingly trading globally and therefore exposed to similar global supply chain risks as their large international firm counterparts, it is more difficult to manage risks since they are missing the necessary resources, structures and processes (Ritchie and Brindley 2000). This is even more concerning when considering the fact that SMEs are often affected disproportionately by supply chain risks. As second or third tier suppliers, in many supply chains they have to shoulder a significant size of the risk burden which is pushed upstream in the supply chain by the other parties. In a large project on SCV conducted in England in the time between 2000 and 2003, interviews with managing directors of 15 SMEs revealed that the requirements of SMEs for SCRM approaches differ substantially from those of larger businesses (Cranfield University 2003).

Supply chain vulnerability has become a fashionable area of management research. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critique of the extant canon and to review of the positioning of research in the field, together with literature drawn from several relevant and overlapping fields of research and practice. The aim is to foster a more explicit understanding of the relationships between supply chain vulnerability, risk and supply chain management, and in turn their relevance to related fields such as corporate governance, business continuity management, security and emergency planning. The ultimate objective is to clarify the agenda for further research. The paper begins with an examination of the concept of a “supply chain” and the scope and nature of supply chain management (SCM), then the fusion of SCM with the many and varied interpretations of “risk” and its faltering relationship to risk management. It is argued that attitudes to risk and approaches to risk management vary greatly within SCM and between related disciplines. It is concluded that although more work is needed within the SCM discipline, the issue of supply chain risk and vulnerability should not be addressed solely from a functional SCM perspective. Supply chain vulnerability is a concern for many other managerial disciplines. Research agendas should therefore strive to inform and support the needs of all those with a legitimate interest in supply chain risk and vulnerability management.

The purpose of this paper is to show an analysis of cargo movement risk from foreign point of origin to domestic destination through global supply chain risk management practices. After investigating the vulnerability of global supply chains in general and examining key nodes of supply chain risks, the impact of global supply chain risk management performance is tested. In particular, two different approaches are represented to deal with supply chain risks, i.e. reactive and preventive supply chain risk management. The analyses reveal that companies with a high implementation degree show a better global supply chain performance. Furthermore, instruments for dealing with supply chain risks are investigated. The results show that the group using reactive supply chain risk management has higher average value in terms of disruptions resilience, or the reduction of the bullwhip effect; whereas the group pursuing preventive global supply chain risk management has better values regarding flexibility.

: The purpose of this research was to improve defense supply chain risk management processes through better intelligence integration. To this end, this research sought to capture the present state of academic and Department of Defense (DoD) thought regarding supply chain resiliency and risk management through an extensive review of current academic and DoD literature regarding supply chain risk management and intelligence doctrine. This review established the importance of supply chain risk analysis to ensuring supply chain resiliency and identified a significant gap in DoD acquisitions policy and guidance regarding intelligence support to supply chain risk analysis. This research culminated in the development of a methodology for intelligence professionals to use to support supply chain risk management processes. Specifically, this paper provides analysts a methodology to provide intelligence support to risk analysis for United States Air Force (USAF) weapon system supply chains based on the Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment process established in Joint doctrine. While the methodology developed in this paper is targeted at USAF weapon system supply chains, it is readily adaptable to other DoD acquisitions program supply chains. Additionally, this paper provides recommendations for future research to further improve intelligence support to supply chain risk management.

In modern market conditions, it is important to correctly assess and manage risks in order to increase the competitiveness and economic stability of enterprises. This article examines the main factors that influence the formation of risks in global supply chains. Controllable and uncontrollable factors, external and internal, are defined. It was established that factors of uncertainty and risks must be taken into account at the stage of both the structural and functional synthesis of supply chains and the implementation of plans. This significantly complicates the processes of structural formation and planning, increases the requirements for flexibility, efficiency and stability of supply chains, the development of mechanisms for coordinated actions of companies in regular and non-regular situations. Although various concepts, models and information systems have been developed over the past 30 years to reduce uncertainty and risk in supply chains, in practice and in theory, this topic is becoming increasingly popular. This article presents the author’s view on the issue of uncertainty and risk in supply chains. Methods for reducing risks in supply chains include: introducing redundancy in structures(expanding the range of products, introducing temporary buffers, safety stocks, additional warehouses, capacity reserves, etc.); improving coordination and information exchange to improve the quality, timeliness and availability of demand forecasts for all supply chain participants; introducing a system for monitoring and regulating supply chains in the event of violations and deviations from the plan; unification of supply chain management elements (endowing various decision-making areas with a variety of management functions so that, for example, if it is impossible to perform a management function in area A, this function can be performed in area B; design of transport systems with alternative delivery routes; development of inter-organizational plans for actions in conditions of disruption of planned processes and elimination of consequences of disruptions in supply chains (contingency plans); standardization of production processes to increase flexibility of capacity use; documentation of disruptions and personnel training. The article emphasizes the importance of applying preventive measures in the system of risk management in global supply chains, suggests strategies for preventing and avoiding risks.

Purpose This research categorizes and synthesizes various seemingly distinct supply chain risk phenomena. It advances an opening-up of discourses on supply chain risk management to acknowledge a supply chain’s broader systemic context. Design/methodology/approach The article develops a comprehensive and systematic perspective on supply chain risk by employing a blend of conceptual theorizing and desk research, illustrating each category with scholarly or real-world examples. Findings The conceptual study offers a typology that unites an understanding of supply chain risk as risk within supply chains with a conceptualization that views supply chains themselves as risks for the contexts in which they are embedded. Research limitations/implications Five constraints apply to the typology, pertaining to a plurality of effects, excerpts in the chain of causality, researchers’ lens on supply chains, dynamic transitions between the types within the typology and simplified representations of the empirical reality. Practical implications Supply chain managers can use the typology to guide their risk identification processes to analyze their supply chain risks more holistically and proactively. Social implications Emphasizing the vulnerability and harmfulness of supply chains facilitates a more substantiated interaction between supply chain scholarship and audiences such as policymakers and society-at-large. Originality/value The typology clarifies the link between concept labels in supply chain risk management. It helps to reconcile the academic discourse with public debates in which supply chains have been viewed as risky for some time.

Purpose– As global supply networks proliferate, the strategic significance of supply chain risk management (SCRM) – defined as the identification, evaluation, and management of supply chain-related risks to reduce overall supply chain vulnerability – also increases. Yet, despite consistent evidence that firm performance is enhanced by appropriate fit between strategy and context, extant SCRM research focusses more on identifying sources of supply chain risk, types of SCRM strategy, and performance implications associated with SCRM than on the relative efficacy of alternative primary supply chain risk mitigation strategies in different risk contexts. Drawing on contingency theory, a conceptual framework is proposed that aligns well-established aspects of SCRM to present a rubric for matching primary alternative supply chain risk mitigation strategies (redundancy and flexibility) with particular risk contexts (severity and probability of risk occurrence). The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– Conceptual paper.Findings– The proposed framework addresses supply chain managers’ need for a basic rubric to help them choose and implement risk mitigation approaches. The framework may also prove helpful for introducing business students to the fundamentals of SCRM.Originality/value– The framework and associated research propositions provide a theoretically grounded basis for managing the firm’s portfolio of potential supply chain risks by applying appropriate primary risk mitigation strategies based on the specific context of each risk rather than taking a “one size fits all” approach to risk mitigation. An agenda for progressing research on contingency-based approaches to SCRM is also presented.

PurposeThis study aims to comprehensively identify supply chain risks and their causes, the factors influencing supply chain management and techniques to successfully mitigate and control supply chain risks in construction projects. This study developed a comprehensive framework showing various supply chain risks and how these risks that influence project execution are systematically identified and managed for the overall construction project success.Design/methodology/approachThe research conducted was characterised by its descriptive, exploratory and quantitative nature. The collection of quantitative data was conducted by means of structured online questionnaires. The sample consisted of 205 construction project professionals who were selected randomly. This group included individuals with various roles in the construction industry, such as project managers, civil/structural engineers mechanical engineers, risk managers, architects, quantity surveyors, electrical engineers, construction managers, health, safety and environment managers, estate managers and other professionals. All participants were actively involved in construction projects located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The data was analysed, using descriptive statistical methods, including factor analysis, reliability assessment and calculations of frequencies and percentages.FindingsThe result showed that predictable delivery, funding schedule, inventories, balanced demands, production capabilities, timely procurement, construction supply chain management coordination, delivery reliability, the proximity of suppliers, identification of supply chain risks in the conceptualisation stage of a project, identification of supply chain risks in the planning stage of a project, identification of supply chain risks in the execution stage and the reconciliation of material flows of the subcontractors with the contractors were identified as the key factors that influenced the construction supply chain management the most. The result also showed that subcontractor’s negative attitudes towards supply chain management, procurement delays, imbalanced demands, clients’ negative attitudes towards other project stakeholders, unpredictable delivery reliability, disorganised construction supply chain management approach, delayed funding, low delivery reliability, poor inventories, poor construction supply chain co-ordination, suppliers’ negative attitudes towards supply chain management and when the material flows of the subcontractors with the contractors are not reconciled were identified as the factors that have the greatest impacts on construction supply chain risks management.Research limitations/implicationsFor future research, it is recommended to incorporate fourth industrial revolution) such as machine learning prediction models and algorithms, Artificial intelligence and blockchain to identify and manage supply chain, supply chain risks and project stakeholders involved in supply chain in construction projects. Green construction or sustainable construction was not fully covered in this study. The findings will be beneficial for sustainable construction projects in developing countries for sustainability, although it did not extensively cover green buildings and related risks.Practical implicationsSupply chain risk is one of the major challenges facing the construction industry because construction projects are complex by nature involving a lot of activities and participants with different responsibilities and tasks therefore it is highly recommended to implement the proposed frameworks in this paper from the conceptualisation stage to the execution stage, carefully identifying parties involved in supply chain, supply chain management, stakeholders, tasks, activities, responsibilities and supply chain risks generated as a result of the interactions between stakeholders involved in supply chain management and coordination to realise project objectives. The findings will be a foundation for identifying and managing supply risks in sustainable buildings in developing countries.Social implicationsSupply chain management is crucial in every enterprise. Managing supply chain risks is a major aspect of risk and disaster management and this implies that supply chain excellence is achievable by building communication, trust and mutual objectives, no blame culture, performance measurement, constant improvement and partnering.Originality/valueThe implementation of construction supply chain risk management framework involves assessing the impacts of these supply chain risks on the objectives of construction projects with respect to time, cost, safety, health, environment, stakeholders, financial performance, client satisfaction and quality.

Today’s supply chains (SC) are immersed in extremely dynamic environments, and supply chain management (SCM) has to deal with a multitude of risks. The domain of supply chain risk management (SCRM) has emerged, providing approaches on how to cope with risks in SC. However, due to increased complexity, volatility, and uncertainty, the number of risks in global SC has increased significantly. Harnessing the power of predictive analytics (PA), implemented in intelligent decision support systems (IDSS), offers huge potential in SCRM. However, research at the intersection of the domains of SCRM, PA, and IDSS is still in its infancy, and several research gaps have yet to be addressed. The paper elaborates on these research gaps by means of a systematic literature review. The results include a set of seven research questions and proposed research directions for future studies. Future research is presented with a plethora of starting points, which originate from the business perspective (i.e., the SCRM domain), the data-driven (i.e., the PA domain) as well as an IT-system perspective (i.e., the IDSS domain).KeywordsSupply chain managementPredictive analyticsSupply chain risk managementDecision support

Background: This study examines the degree to which cognitive supply chain management (CSCM) indirectly enhances supply chain risk management (SCRM), addressing the lack of specific empirical research concerning the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. Specifically, this study tests the CSCM-SCRM relationship using the mediating roles of supply chain forecasting (SCF), supply chain synchronization (SCS), and supply chain transparency (SCT). Methods: For this quantitative research, a survey was conducted among 287 respondents of pharmaceutical companies operating in Saudi Arabia. Convenience sampling was conducted, and the collected data were then analyzed via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) through SmartPLS 4 software. The dynamic capabilities theory (DCT) and information processing theory (IPT) were integrated to develop the conceptual framework of this study. Results: The findings indicate that CSCM does not exert a direct impact on SCRM. Instead, CSCM significantly enhances SCF, SCS, and SCT. Among these, both SCF and SCT have a direct positive impact on SCRM and act as significant mediators in the CSCM–SCRM relationship. In contrast, SCS neither directly impacts SCRM nor plays a mediating role in this relationship. Based on this study, the positive outcomes of CSCM on SCRM come about via SCF and SCT rather than SCS. Conclusions: This study contributes to the literature by empirically validating a model that integrates CSCM, SCF, SCS, SCT, and SCRM in the context of Saudi pharmaceutical companies. It further contributes to the pharmaceutical practitioners by establishing that CSCM exerts an indirect positive effect on SCRM via information-intensive capabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed profound weaknesses in global pharmaceutical supply chains, resulting in widespread shortages of critical medical supplies, delayed drug manufacturing, and disruptions in vaccine distribution. These supply chain vulnerabilities were exacerbated by several key factors, including an overreliance on a limited number of countries for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), insufficient local manufacturing capacity, and logistical constraints in transportation and distribution networks. The pandemic also exposed inefficiencies in regulatory frameworks, leading to delays in approvals and limited agility in responding to rapidly changing demands. Furthermore, the lack of transparency and real-time monitoring across global supply chains hindered effective decision-making and coordination, aggravating the crisis. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the critical factors that contributed to pharmaceutical supply chain disruptions during COVID-19, identifying missing links such as the need for diversification of supply sources, enhanced flexibility in manufacturing processes, and the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and automation for supply chain optimization. The analysis highlights how supply chain visibility, digital innovation, and risk management strategies could improve resilience in the face of future global health crises. In addition to identifying these challenges, the paper proposes solutions to address the missing links in pharmaceutical supply chains, including the decentralization of production, the development of regional manufacturing hubs, and the creation of public-private partnerships to bolster local production. The role of government policies in facilitating faster regulatory approvals, fostering international cooperation, and incentivizing innovation is also explored. Case studies on successful post-COVID-19 adaptations, such as the rapid scale-up of vaccine production and the reconfiguration of personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chains, offer insights into effective strategies for building more resilient systems. Ultimately, this paper underscores the importance of a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to ensuring the stability and security of pharmaceutical supply chains. It calls for proactive measures to strengthen global supply chain infrastructures, improve regulatory agility, and embrace emerging technologies that can predict and respond to disruptions. These steps are crucial to safeguarding the continuous delivery of essential pharmaceuticals during future pandemics or other large-scale disruptions, ensuring global health security in an increasingly interconnected world.

Assessing social risks of global supply chains: A quantitative analytical approach and its application to supplier selection in the German automotive industry

IntroductionGlobal supply chain management is exposed to a variety of risks such as demand fluctuations, exchange-rate fluctuations, price fluctuations, supply disruption, and supply delays.2 In addition, because of business activities and growth, management often has created conflicts among risks. Thus, business firms must develop mitigation strategies that effectively manage these risks in the supply chain.3 Supply chain risk management (SCRM) takes a proactive approach to the development of mitigation strategies for supply chain risks, giving important strategic alternatives and insights while overcoming challenges presented by the information and knowledge age.4The purpose of this paper is threefold: 1) to identify, assess, and prioritize supply chain risks; 2) to use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique to support the strategic planning in supply chain management (SCM) decision-making; and 3) to provide business decision makers with a model to identify risk mitigation strategies. Using a business firm (BF) in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), the study focuses on exploring supply chain risks' characteristics in order to implement risk mitigation strategies that will improve the BF's and the KIC's decision-making planning process and managerial policy.5 The study will suggest risk mitigation strategies that will enable the BF to respond to innovation and new growth, while reinforcing overall ongoing business planning strategies to meet defined requirements in the KIC business setting.Supply Chain Risk ManagementSupply chain management (SCM) is defined as an integrated business philosophy for managing information, materials, and monetary flows among different facilities, suppliers, customers, and logistic levels. SCM includes both internal customers, such as all cross-functional decision-makers within an organization that have direct and/or indirect impact, and external customers such as suppliers, distributors, transporters, warehouses, retailers, and even end users. Because of the many qualitative and quantitative factors which must be included in SCM, planning is a complicated decision-making problem in business.6 Given the complexity of SCM, especially in cross-border supply chains, many studies have applied different business methodologies to real world situations.7Supply chain risk is defined as any risk associated with the flow of materials, information, and monetary transaction in a supply chain process. An effective supply chain risk management (SCRM) strategy embeds risk management into all supply chain functions, from inbound to outbound supply chain streams. Conventional risk management identifies and evaluates the various supply chain risk factors and their potential effects in areas such as purchasing and procurement, manufacturing and production, resources and real estate, outsourcing, logistics and warehousing, inventory, and legal matters. Risk factors can be identified in terms of sources, places, and relationships, or from a managerial function perspective, such as financial risk, operational risk, human resources risk, and information risk.8 Table 1 on page 36 presents categories and drivers of supply chain risks.A more comprehensive SCRM strategy may need proactive participants in the overall SCM planning processes.9 Although managing supply chain risk is a primary business activity, an even more important activity is the identification of proper risk mitigation strategies that will make the business more sustainable and profitable. By identifying risks and developing a pertinent strategy in a supply chain, business firms can align risks to the related strategies. In manufacturing-business firms, four major strategies are cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility.The existence of numerous risk factors makes supply chain decision-making more difficult to plan and implement. It is complicated because many tangible and intangible risk factors must be included in the decision-making process of a supply chain planning process. …