Background: By focusing on efficiency, supply chains became increasingly extensive and complex during the past years. This led to higher vulnerability, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused an incomparable impact on global supply chains. Consequently, researchers demanded more investigation of the pandemic to prepare for future disruptions and create more resilient supply chains.   Purpose: This thesis examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on operations in supply chain management. It seeks to understand the challenges during a pandemic and acknowledge experiences to create more resilient supply chains in the future.   Method: We applied an explorative single-case study with a focus on individuals working in SCM-related departments. Therefore, we conducted semi-structured following theory-guided - and maximum-variation sampling to get a holistic view. Following an abductive approach, we constantly compared theory and empirical findings to further expand on previous theory about supply chain resilience. We also increased the validity by triangulating our findings with quantitative secondary data.   Conclusion: The results of this study show that a pandemic causes multiple reoccurring disruptions to supply chains. Companies have to react flexibly to adapt to the fast-changing environment, but the extensive supply chains hinder fast reactions. The findings of this study allow making different theoretical and managerial implications to create more resilience in supply chains to face future pandemics and other disruptions.

Background: In a globalised world and increased interconnected business environments effective resilience capabilities are pivotal for disruption mitigation. In the pharmaceutical industry this concerns the phenomenon of medicine shortages and high geographical sourcing dependencies resulting in severe consequences for healthcare providers and patients. Purpose: Analysing challenges affecting resilience in the upstream of the pharmaceutical supply chain network and root-causes of the heparin sourcing shortage. This study aims to find resilience strategies to effectively manage future heparin sourcing shortages. Method: This qualitative case study analysed the dynamic phenomenon of supply chain network resilience in a German listed healthcare company. Semi- structured interviews were conducted based on non-probability purposive sampling. The empirical findings were analysed according to the thematic analysis. Conclusion: The findings indicate that insufficient management of challenges impacting the supply chain network resilience leads to medicine shortages. Driven by the ethical obligation the pharmaceutical supply chain network particularly has to deal with external hurdles and sourcing dependencies created by complex product characteristics.

This paper addresses the existing situation of Supply Chain Management (SCM) in readymade garment manufacturing factories in Bangladesh. Supply chain management is a key issue for garment manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The literature on current supply chain management in garment factories in Bangladesh is very poor. Therefore, in this study, the author has made an attempt to analyze a more effective supply chain scenario for the Bangladeshi garment industry that will lead to better competitive advantage over their rivals by analyzing the current supply chain and examining the relationships among the actors in supply chain management.

No / Supply chain resilience has been suggested to curb the impact of disruptions on supply chains. While this proposition seems coherent in theory, empirical evidence supporting this is limited, as existing literature has centred on exploring the impact of supply chain resilience on disruptions which are based on set time frames, non-supply chain specific as well as examining non-dynamic disruptive events. This study contends that resilience strategies are dynamic and as such their applications within supply chains differ. Therefore examining the impact of resilience will be appropriate on a dynamic disruption within a specific supply chain. In view of this, the paper examines through existing literature the applicability of agility within the pharmaceutical supply chain when dynamic disruptions like drug shortages occur. The study finds alertness, accessibility, connectivity and visibility as dimensions of supply chain agility that are capable of reducing the impact of drug shortages.

Pharmaceutical supply chains are susceptible to disruptions which impact on the operational and financial performance of firms as well as patient safety. This study aimed to explore why the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain (PSC) in the UK is susceptible to the impact of dynamic disruptions and examine how resilience strategies have were employed to reduce the effects of these disruptions. The Complex Adaptive System (CAS) theory was used as a framework in an exploratory research design using mixed-methods. The qualitative data were gathered through 23 semi-structured interviews with key supply chain actors across the PSC in the UK to explore their experiences. The findings from these semi-structured interviews were used to develop a survey which was distributed to a broader spectrum of supply chain actors where the final sample from the survey was (n=106). The data were triangulated to discuss the research findings. The initial results revealed power, conflict and complexities as drivers of vulnerabilities in the PSC. Antecedents for building resilience strategies included visibility, flexibility and joint decision making as recovery strategies and resource sharing as the resistance strategy. CAS provided a systemic approach to understanding PSC resilience rather than in parts. In doing so, it took into consideration the various elements that make up the entire system. Thus, vulnerabilities and resilience strategies were outcomes of the interactions between supply chain actors. The findings demonstrated that CAS, as a theory, provided a framework that was beneficial in exploring and gaining insights into PSC resilience. Also, by combining the two datasets (interviews and survey), an original output was proposed -the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Resilience Framework (PSCRF)- which was used to recommend resilience strategies suitable for mitigating disruptions in the PSC.

Yes / Purpose This study explored the effect of power-based behaviours on pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) resilience. Design/methodology/approach This study used a mixed-method approach to explore the role of power-based behaviours in PSC resilience. Qualitative interviews from 23 key PSC stakeholders, followed by thematic analysis, revealed the underlying perceptions regarding PSC resilience. Quantitative propositions were then developed based on the themes adopted from PSC resilience literature and the qualitative findings. These were tested via a survey questionnaire administered to 106 key stakeholders across the various levels in the PSC. Structural equation modelling with partial least squares was used to analyse the data. Findings The data analysed identified proactive and reactive strategies as resilience strategies in the PSC. However, power-based behaviours represented by quota systems, information and price control influenced these resilience strategies. From a complex adaptive system (CAS) perspective, we found that when power-based behaviours were exhibited, the interactions between PSC actors were mixed. There was a negative influence on reactive strategies and a positive influence on proactive strategies. Our analysis also showed that PSC complexities measured by (stringent regulations, long lead times and complex production) moderated the effect of power-based behaviour on reactive strategies. Thus, the negative impact of power-based behaviours on reactive strategies stemmed from PSC complexities. Research implications Our research particularly reveals the role of power-based behaviours in building PSC resilience. By evaluating the nexus from a CAS perspective, the analysis considered powerbased behaviours and the moderating role of PSC complexities in developing resilience strategies. The study considers the interactions of PSC actors. It shows that power asymmetry is a relational concept that inhibits the efficacy of reactive strategies. This study thus advocates the importance of power in achieving a more resilient PSC from a holistic perspective by highlighting the importance of the decision-making process among supply chain partners. Our findings are particularly relevant if PSC resilience is viewed as a complex adaptive system (CAS). All the interactions and decision-making processes affect outcomes due to their inherent complexities. Although this study focused on the PSC, its implications could be extended to other SCs (supply chains). Practical implications We identified that power-based behaviours influenced resilience strategies. It was detrimental to reactive strategies due to the complexities of the PSC but beneficial to proactive strategies through resource-sharing. PSC actors are therefore encouraged to pursue proactive strategies as this may aid in mitigating the impact of disruptions. However, power-based behaviours bred partner dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction may occur even within strategic alliances indicating that power could be detrimental to proactive strategies. Therefore, it is pertinent to identify conditions that lead to dissatisfaction when pursuing strategic partnerships. This study provides insight into actual behaviours influencing resilience and quantifies their effects on the PSC. These insights will be valuable for all supply chain partners wanting to improve their resilience strategies. Originality/value Previous PSC management and resilience studies have not examined the role of power in building resilience in the PSC. This paper thus provides a unique contribution by identifying the role of power in PSC resilience, offers empirical evidence and a novel theoretical perspective for future practice and research in building PSC resilience strategies.

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This dissertation consists of three essays studying three closely related aspects of supply chain resilience. The first essay is "Value of Supply Disruption Information and Information Accuracy", in which we examine the factors that influence the value of supply disruption information, investigate how information accuracy influences this value, and provide managerial suggestions to practitioners. The study is motivated by the fact that fully accurate disruption information may be difficult and costly to obtain and inaccurate disruption information can decrease the financial benefit of prior knowledge and even lead to negative performance. We perform the analysis by adopting a newsvendor model. The results show that information accuracy, specifically information bias and information variance, plays an important role in determining the value of disruption information. However, this influence varies at different levels of disruption severity and resilience capacity. The second essay is "Quantifying Supply Chain Resilience: A Dynamic Approach", in which we provide a new type of quantitative framework for assessing network resilience. This framework includes three basic elements: robustness, recoverability and resilience, which can be assessed with respect to different performance measures. Then we present a comprehensive analysis on how network structure and other parameters influence these different elements. The results of this analysis clearly show that both researchers and practitioners should be aware of the possible tradeoffs among different aspects of supply chain resilience. The ability of the framework to support better decision making is then illustrated through a systemic analysis based on a real supply chain network. The third essay is "Network Characteristics and Supply Chain Disruption Resilience", in which we investigate the relationships between network characteristics and supply chain resilience. In this work, we first prove that investigating network characteristics can lead to a better understanding of supply chain resilience behaviors. Later we select key characteristics that play a critical role in determining network resilience. We then construct the regression and decision tree models of different supply chain resilience measures, which can be used to estimate supply chain network resilience given the key influential characteristics. Finally, we conduct a case study to examine the estimation accuracy. / Ph. D.

Humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain management is a relatively new area of investigation which is typically associated with unexpected disasters that require immediate actions and responses. It can be defined as “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of meeting the end beneficiary‟s requirements” (Thomas, 2005).In both man-made and natural disaster relief processes, humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain operations have been hampered by a lack of information and coordination between actors. Especially in sudden-onset disasters, humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain teams have to be deployed in situations with destabilized infrastructure and with very limited knowledge about the situation at hand (Beamon 2004, Long and Wood 1995, Tomasini and Van Wassenhove 2004).This lack directly affects effective performance in terms of validity and reliability enhancement in which an adapted resiliency management in relief supply chain strategies could offer a solution to cover the problem.The purpose of study ahead is to underline the beneficial advantages offered by using resiliency methods in humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain operations, and enriching the existing benefits that relief chain management teams through the humanitarian logistics techniques have brought to satisfy the survival needs.In fact, the end result of the research will be in both fields of humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain management, and the use of resiliency theories to overcome on barriers and difficulties during relief and aid operations.

The global nature of current supply chains – in combination with disruptive events like the Covid-19 pandemic – has highlighted the need for increased supply chain resilience (SCRes). Contemporary research has primarily focused on proactive SCRes strategies and, to some degree, neglected the reactive strategies for building SCRes. As pro- and reactive measures are needed for building SCRes, the study explores how businesses employ reactive SCRes recovery strategies to handle extreme supply chain disruption (SCD).  One sector of the economy experiencing SCD as an effect of the Coronavirus is the automobile industry, which is generally used to measure international health. With the exploratory nature of the purpose and the influential role of the automobile industry, the study employed a qualitative methodology where the strategies utilized by automobile industry actors are used as the case to discover and contribute with empirical evidence for reactive SCRes strategies. The empirical data was derived through semi-structured interviews with supply chain executives from the automobile industry.  The findings indicate that companies within the automobile industry employ three main reactive SCRes strategies: communication, crisis teams, and workforce measures, to handle the adverse outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the results suggest that crucial organizational capabilities are flexibility and velocity to handle turmoil within supply chains. Furthermore, based on a holistic perspective, the study indicates that the four formative capabilities of SCRes: flexibility, velocity, visibility, and collaboration, along with pro- and reactive SCRes strategies, are interconnected. As such, all capabilities appear to be pervading in the three reactive SCRes strategies. The study, therefore, implies that all capabilities of SCRes and both pro- and reactive strategies are necessary for the development of more resilient supply chains.