Supply chain security appears to be overlooked in supply chain risk management. However, supply chain security can add to the robustness and resileince of the overall supply chain, providing a “safety net” of services that protects and enhances the overall supply chain operation.
This is not so much a book about risk management in logistics, but more a book about resilience management in logistics, where the authors develop a brilliant framework for how to improve a company’s resilience.
Christopher Tang from UCLA talks about three strategies for building a robust supply chain, related to (1) supply, (2) product, and (3) demand.
These concepts are often confused, and thus, warrant further explanation. They are distinctively different.
Lean does not necessarily make you more vulnerable or less robust towards supply chain disruptions. Lean implies agile, and agile is what is needed to overcome supply chain disruptions.
The severity of supply chain disruptions stems from supply chain design characteristics and supply chain mitigation capabilities: Supply Chain Design: supply chain density,supply chain complexity, node criticality. Supply Chain Mitigation Capability: recovery capability, warning capability.
The paper defines the concept of vulnerability as it applies to production systems and is built around three concepts: A taxonomy of vulnerability factors as a basis for or guideline in establishing scenarios.
An input/output model to describe production systems.
A two-step vulnerability analysis for productions systems.
In a previous post I discussed the issue of Flexibility and robustness to reduce risk and uncertainty. Since then a new term has emerged: resilience, and today I will take a look at that.
To make the supply chain more resilient, businesses need to do more than just think about the problem; they must prepare to act effectively, and find the optimal tradeoff between disruption costs and mitigation costs.
Readiness, Response and Recovery are four key elements in the New Zealand Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. But how can this be related to supply chain management?
This paper will first present the main risks that are facing any company. Then, the available options to reduce these risks will be considered. Finally, in relation to these risks, flexibility and robustness will be introduced as a tool to handle uncertainties (risks).
