Global Supply Chain Resilience: Vulnerability and Shifting Risk Management Strategies

Abstract

Global supply links and geographically concentrated production networks allow a local events such as natural disasters to become a global disruption or global events such as financial crisis have pervasive impact on local economies. While global supply chains can not be the cause of adverse shocks, they act as effective transmission mechanism. Greater connectivity initially decreases risk through risk dispersing and diversification and increase the overall robustness of the supply chain. However, beyond a certain threshold, it increases the supply chain’s fragility and thus systemic risks. Resilience address the supply chain’s ability to cope with the consequences of an avoidable risk events in order to return to its original operations. The chapters in the book are divided into two parts. Part one deals with the assessment methods and quantitative impacts of vulnerable supply chains. Part two discuss resilience mechanism, riskmanagement strategies of global supply chains, and enabling policy frameworks. The combined effects of disasters and economic shocks underlines the growing importance of informing the market players and the policy makers of risk management and hot spots of supply chain resilience as well as technical assistance programs.