It is not often that I come across papers with a holistic view of the supply chain as a living and dynamic system. However, the introductory chapters of Architecture for supply chain analysis and methodology for quantitative measurement of supply chain flexibility, a 2001 PhD thesis by Wei Deng Solvang, explore the topic of supply chains having a typical 5-phase life cycle. I find that highly interesting. Not only is a supply chain a network of interlinked actors, but the links (or relations, if you so wish) are constantly changing, with new ones appearing and old ones dissipating.

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