How to cope with Disruptions
FEATURED PAPER
By Prof. Dr. M.F. HARAKE
MEGS – Management & Engineering Graduate School
France
Abstract
Today, more than ever, our world is facing supply chain constraints that threaten the basics of current market dynamic on all levels and in every economic field. From economic sanctions limiting commercial trade, the COVID-19 crisis, post-pandemic economic stagnation, the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine, the global chip shortage, as well as the effects of the current Israeli-Palestinian war and its impact on freight transportation in the Red Sea have all exposed the vulnerability of today’s global supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to review how supply chain must be designed to ensure their flow and deliverables in complex, uncertain, and ever-changing environment. The paper will study how supply chains must be resilient by addressing current challenges through agility to meet both socio-economic and political volatilities, and sustainable through their transition to socio-ecological compliant economies.
Key Words: Supply Chain; Resilience; Crisis Management; Agility; Sustainability
- Introduction
- Past-Times Mentality
In either periods of capitalist economic growth or stagnation, experts have usually measured the success of any commercial operation by how far a manager was able to drive down costs and drive-up efficiency and productivity (an approach that soon paved the way to Lean Management). Waste management in general and the Just-in-Time (JIT) approach in particular became a cornerstone of commercial validation, delivery precision, and operational success (Geda et al., 2020; Chintapalli & Vakharia, 2023). Within this approach, both goods and services arrived when needed, wastes were eliminated, and costs were decreased.
- From Global Crises to Turning Points
Since 2020, several crises took place which disrupted the commercial supply chain status quo and questioned its operational practices and paradigms. The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, the global chip shortage, as well as the effects of the current Israeli-Palestinian war and its impact on freight transportation in the Red Sea – have set two new supply chains facts: (1) uncertainty is now a new status quo; and (2) resilience is a condition (pre-requisite) for operations continuity. Indeed, the time has come to change business orientations when it comes to supply chain management – where managers’ attention must be equally oriented towards attaining both efficiency and resilience in any supply chain operation. In other words, supply chain operations must take into account the Just-In-Time (JIT) principle as well as supply chain contingency from a Business Continuity perspective. Hence, JIT, waste management, and other principles must be rethought as shortages as well as possible trade-offs are essential elements to consider. Thus, supply chain resiliency must:
- Encompass being able to quickly and appropriately adjust to disruptions (agility), while preserving efficiencies as much as possible;
- Adapt to structural changes by modifying supply chain strategies, operations, and technologies;
- Prospect and anticipate changes in demand while taking into account several essential supply chain elements (e.g. inventory, cost, flows, tracks, transportation means, etc.) and respond without sacrificing neither cost nor quality.
- The Aim of this Paper
Based on the above, the aim of this paper is to focus on supply chain resiliency while reflecting on the ways that can minimize the tradeoff between JIT and planning for unexpected uncertainties as well as unpredictable and uncontrollable events. In this paper, we will try to study the essential elements that constitutes the dynamic of supply chain resiliency including its frameworks by expanding and enhancing their ecosystems and relationships, while maintaining a focus on efficiency and meeting clientele’s expectations. By understanding an organizations’ options, making calculated data-driven decisions, and maintaining communication with customers as well as other implicated stakeholders, it is possible to obtain the right balance for one’s business.
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How to cite this paper: Harake, M. F. (2024). Supply Chain Resiliency: How to cope with Disruptions. PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue II, February. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/pmwj138-Feb2024-Harake-Supply-chain-resilience.pdf
About the Author
Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE (DBA, PhD)
Poitiers, France
Prof. Dr. M. F. HARAKE (DBA, PhD) is a management Professor based in France. He is currently the Director of International Academic Affairs of GIP CEI (a French Higher Education and Research Institution). He is also the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program manager of MEGS – Management & Engineering Graduate School (Paris – France) and the scientific director of the MBA DELIVERWEB at ALTERNIS Business School (Bordeaux – France). He previously served as a visiting professor at ESCE International Business School (Paris – France), Paris School of Business (Paris – France), Ascencia Business School (Paris – France), ESPRIT Business School (Tunis – Tunisia), GBSB Global Business School (Barcelona – Spain), etc.
Dr. M.F. HARAKE is a research fellow and former board member of the CEREGE Research Laboratory (University of Poitiers – France), and a visiting research fellow at CABMR Research Center (Paris – France). He is also an Honorary Academic Advisor and Research Scholar at the Project Management World Library (Austin / Texas – USA). He previously served as the Director of the CREFEGE Research Center (Paris – France). His research interests include Post-Conflict Public Management, Crisis and Urgent Operations Management, Humanitarian Logistics, and Project Management in Unstable Environments. He can be contacted at mharake@gip-cei.com
