Background & aims: Prior research has, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting supply chain (SC) disruptions, increased the level of investigations in the field of SC resilience strategies. Even though many studies have been conducted within the field, little is known about the effectiveness and efficiency of those strategies. As food SC’s (FSC’s) are among the most important SC’s in our societies, their conservation is of great importance. As the operational purchasing process within the FSC was one of the areas within the SC that was strongly affected by the pandemic, this process will be the focus of the paper. This study seeks to identify the most applied SC resilience strategies for operational purchasing activities in FSC’s for various SC disruptions from a SME food retailers perspective. Furthermore, a framework of how to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of those strategies will be developed. Method: To collect relevant empirical data to answer the purpose of the study a qualitative multiple-interview study is conducted based on semi-structured interviews with respondents of the three different case companies. The case companies were selected and four interviews with one to two respondents per company were conducted. European SME food retailers of long shelf life goods are used as case companies to investigate the research gaps. Results: The study found out that the application of theory revealed the five most applied SC resilience strategies (SC flexibility, inventory management, end-to-end (E2E) SC visibility (SCV), information technology (IT) tools and SC cooperation) in operational purchasing, differences between SME food retailers according to their company size and maturity level. The KPIs identified to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of these SC resilience strategies were found to be applied. The KPIs provided are the basis for measurement opportunities that should be adapted and expanded depending on the business model and complexity of the company as part of the SC design. Contributions: The study adds value through theoretical and practical contributions of the most applied SC resilience strategies within operational purchasing from a SME food retailer perspective and their performance measurement system for measuring efficiency and effectiveness. Limitation & future research: The study is limited to the Covid-19 pandemic as a major reason for the triggering of the investigated SC disruptions. Further limitations can be seen within the selection of the case companies. Future research should investigate the differences between SME within their application of SC resilience strategies for their operational purchasing activities, just like the differences between strategic and operational purchasing. Key words: supply chain resilience strategy, supply chain disruption, Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain effectiveness, supply chain efficiency, performance measurements, key performance indicator, food supply chain, food retailers, purchasing process, operational purchasing

The covid pandemic has brought severe impacts on the supply chain of the electronics industry since it starts. Electronic companies are struggling to find strategies for reducing these impacts. The purpose of the research intends to provide decision-makers in the electronics industry with a clear understanding of the impacts on the supply chain and support them to formulate effective recovery activities and long-term strategies for restructuring more resilient and sustainable supply chains in the future.  Delphi method was performed in the research with the consideration of the aim and research questions, research quality as well as the available resources. The consensus among a group of experts was achieved after two rounds of investigation. The empirical data was collected from 12 experts in the 8 electronic companies through interviews and questionnaires. Both data collection techniques are suitable and have advantages in obtaining people’s perspectives and experiences of reality.  In the study, an amount of 10 impact items, 9 short-term recovery actions, and 10 proposals of long-term strategies were identified and aligned. Followed up by the analysis and discussion together with existing findings from previous literature. The impacts will vary from company to company, and each recovery activity has its own strengths and weaknesses, so decision-makers need to choose the appropriate recovery activities considering the realities of company resources and the economy. Furthermore, the findings of long-term strategies implied that the supply chain should be restructured in terms of resilience and sustainability from a long-term perspective.  Future research can continue to examine how these strategies can be implemented by exploring case studies with electronics companies. Besides, it is also valuable to investigate what are the main challenges in carrying out these strategies. A broader survey in the electronic industry is also recommended to validate the results.

In recent years, the frequency of disruptive events in supply chains has increased. This is partly due to the fact that supply chains are more globalized and more complex, with deeper tiering among suppliers. This makes the supply chain more vulnerable to risks. Supply chain risks that come with the dependencies of global suppliers have been evident due to unexpected global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the obstruction in the Suez Canal, and the Russia-Ukraine war. To mitigate supply chain risks, a company needs to have a resilient supply chain. Volvo Construction Equipment, a world-leading manufacturer of premium construction equipment, has experienced some particularly challenging years due to global occurrences with material shortages, capacity constraints, and supply routes disruption. This has built up stress in the organization, both among processes and employees. To be able to plan for the coming years of high uncertainty, Volvo CE wants to investigate how they can anticipate and mitigate various risks and resist market fluctuations to create a more resilient supply chain. Therefore the purpose of the research was formulated as: The purpose of the research is to suggest how Volvo Construction Equipment AB can mitigate supply chain risks to secure the future supply chain in a volatile market. To facilitate the fulfillment of the research’s purpose, three research questions were developed concerning risk identification, assessing resilience capabilities, and assessing risk mitigation strategies. The first research question, RQ1, identified Volvo CE’s supply chain risks and the vulnerability of the risks. The supply chain risks were identified through focused group discussions with Volvo CE employees and the most vulnerable risks were determined through a survey with responses from the participants in the group discussions. Three risks were considered the most vulnerable in Volvo CE’s supply chain; lack of raw material and component shortage, lack of labor and competence in production at supplier, and shutdown of supplier factory due to unexpected events. The second research question, RQ2, answered which resilience capabilities Volvo CE possesses today and which should be improved. The resilience capabilities were assessed qualitatively through semi-structured interviews. The interview answers were then interpreted into what SCRES elements Volvo CE possess. It was concluded that all resilience capabilities can be improved but two out of five capabilities, ability to anticipate and ability to recover, were considered to have the most improvement potential as they contain a large proportion of SCRES elements that are not fully possessed today. Through semi-structured interviews and a cross-question analysis with RQ1 and RQ2, the third research question, RQ3, regarding the assessment of risk mitigation strategies could be answered. Based on the result of all research questions, five risk mitigation strategies were suggested for Volvo CE. These aimed to improve Volvo CE’s resilience capabilities with the most improvement potential to be able to mitigate the most vulnerable supply chain risks. The suggested risk mitigation strategies were supply chain understanding, SCRM culture, supplier relationship, backup supplier, and scenario planning. By working with these strategies, Volvo CE could significantly increase its resilience and thus create an organization better able to mitigate supply chain risks to secure the future supply in a volatile market.

Global Supply Chains are fragile to disruptions and risks due to their complexity and the large number of players involved. In order to ensure the stability and effectiveness of the Global Supply Chain, it is therefore essential to identify and minimize potential risks and disruptions at an early stage. This study aims to explore the impact of disruptions on the Global Supply Chain and the enhancement of resilience in the automotive sector, with a focus on Risk Management strategies. The research objective is to analyze a case study within Volvo Trucks and identify Risk Management strategies for enhancing Supply Chain resilience in response to the Suez Canal Blockage. In order to achieve the objective of this research, a qualitative and deductive approach was employed to examine the subject. The existing frameworks identified in the literature review were utilized to inform the development of the interview guide for the data collection. The data collected from three semi-structured interviews with representatives of Volvo Trucks was subsequently analyzed to identify patterns between the theoretical framework and the practical case study. Given the significant impact of the Suez Canal Blockage on the automotive sector, a single automotive company (Volvo Trucks) was selected for examination of the effects on their Global Supply Chain. The study emphasizes the pivotal role of accurately identifying potential risks or crises in order to develop effective Risk Management strategies. The results show the importance of a proactive approach to Risk Identification, Assessment, Treatment and Monitoring to ensure Business Continuity and mitigate uncertainties. The findings of the analysis and conclusions to the research questions can be utilized as a basis for Risk Management strategies across the entire automotive sector. The findings of this study may prove beneficial for future research and for managers within the sector. The adapted framework of insights gained by Volvo Trucks can be used to guide Supply Chain Managers towards a more resilient Global Supply Chain. Furthermore, this framework could be employed in future research on Global Supply Chain resilience within the automotive sector to inform the studies. / Globala leveranskedjor är sköra för störningar och risker då de är komplexa och många aktörer är inblandade. För att försäkra stabilitet och effektivitet av dessa är det därför väsentligt att identifiera och minimera potentiella risker och störningar i ett tidigt skede. Denna studie syftar till att utforska påverkan av störningar på globala leveranskedjor och förbättringen av resiliensen i bilbranschen, med ett fokus på riskhanteringsstrategier. Studiens syfte är att analysera en fallstudie av Volvo Trucks och identifiera riskhanteringsstrategier för förbättrad resiliens i deras globala leveranskedja som en följd av blockeringen i Suezkanalen. För att uppnå detta användes en kvalitativ och deduktiv metod för studien. De redan existerande ramverken som identifierades i litteraturöversikten användes för att utveckla intervjuguiden för datainsamlingen. Den insamlade datan från tre semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter från Volvo Trucks analyserades sedan för att identifiera mönster mellan de teoretiska ramverken och fallstudien. Eftersom blockeringen i Suezkanalen hade stor påverkan på bilindustrin valdes ett bilföretag som urval för fallstudien. Studien understryker den centrala rollen av att identifiera risker eller kriser för att utveckla effektiva riskhanteringsstrategier. Resultatet visar vikten av ett proaktivt arbetssätt för att identifiera risker, utvärdera dem, behandla och bevaka dem för att säkerställa kontinuitet i företaget och minska osäkerheten i leveranskedjan. Resultatet av analysen och slutsatserna utifrån forskningsfrågorna kan användas som bas för riskhanteringsstrategier inom bilindustrin. Resultaten kan också vara användbara för framtida forskning som teoretisk grund. Det nya anpassade ramverket av insikter från Volvo Trucks kan användas för att guida ledare inom området för leveranskedjor för att uppnå en mer resistent leveranskedja mot framtida störningar.

Em um cenário de aumento de competitividade, crescente expectativa por inovações do produto e necessidade de atender diferentes perfis de consumidores, o conceito de gerenciamento de cadeias de suprimentos globais (GSCM) surge como uma estratégia para coordenar mais eficazmente as atividades dispersas geograficamente dos sistemas produtivos. Na adoção do GSCM, as organizações devem lidar com rupturas que impactam no gerenciamento das suas atividades, tais como a interrupção de vias de transporte, pane no fornecimento de energia, desastres naturais e até ataques terroristas. Nesse contexto, o trabalho introduz um procedimento sistematizado para modelagem das cadeias de suprimentos visto como um sistema a eventos discretos e sua análise por simulação das atividades do GSCM baseada em técnicas formais como a rede de Petri (PN) e o Production Flow Schema (PFS). Um exemplo é também apresentado para ilustrar e comprovar as vantagens do método proposto na análise do GSCM. / In a context of increasing competition, rising of expectations for product innovations and need to satisfy different consumer needs, the concept of global supply chain management (GSCM) emerges as a strategy to more efficiently coordinate the geographically dispersed activities of production systems. Adopting GSCM, organizations have to deal with external disruptions that impact management activities, such as transport interruption, power supply failure, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. In this way, a systematized procedure for modeling supply chains as a discrete event system and simulation analysis of GSCM activities based on formal techniques, such as Petri net (PN) and Production Flow Schema (PFS) is introduced. An example is also presented to illustrate and confirm the advantages of the proposed method for GSCM analysis.

Em um cenário de aumento de competitividade, crescente expectativa por inovações do produto e necessidade de atender diferentes perfis de consumidores, o conceito de gerenciamento de cadeias de suprimentos globais (GSCM) surge como uma estratégia para coordenar mais eficazmente as atividades dispersas geograficamente dos sistemas produtivos. Na adoção do GSCM, as organizações devem lidar com rupturas que impactam no gerenciamento das suas atividades, tais como a interrupção de vias de transporte, pane no fornecimento de energia, desastres naturais e até ataques terroristas. Nesse contexto, o trabalho introduz um procedimento sistematizado para modelagem das cadeias de suprimentos visto como um sistema a eventos discretos e sua análise por simulação das atividades do GSCM baseada em técnicas formais como a rede de Petri (PN) e o Production Flow Schema (PFS). Um exemplo é também apresentado para ilustrar e comprovar as vantagens do método proposto na análise do GSCM. / In a context of increasing competition, rising of expectations for product innovations and need to satisfy different consumer needs, the concept of global supply chain management (GSCM) emerges as a strategy to more efficiently coordinate the geographically dispersed activities of production systems. Adopting GSCM, organizations have to deal with external disruptions that impact management activities, such as transport interruption, power supply failure, natural disasters and terrorist attacks. In this way, a systematized procedure for modeling supply chains as a discrete event system and simulation analysis of GSCM activities based on formal techniques, such as Petri net (PN) and Production Flow Schema (PFS) is introduced. An example is also presented to illustrate and confirm the advantages of the proposed method for GSCM analysis.