Open access peer-reviewed chapter

The Supply Chain (SC) environment is changing. The SC entities exhibit ever increasing levels of complexity and are adopting new philosophies and management practices with the objective of increasing levels of competitiveness. In recent years there has been an increase in the likelihood of disturbances that affect the normal operation of the SCs. These disturbances can negatively affect the SCs, making them vulnerable and reducing their competitiveness, which is a critical factor to the success of organizations/SCs. Therefore, it is fundamental that SCs become resilient to disturbances. Managers must identify the likelihood of the occurrence and severity of disturbances, and take appropriate measures (implement management strategies) to respond to each disturbance, thereby reducing the negative effects of such disturbances on the SC. In this paper we will discuss proactive and reactive management strategies that can be adopted by the SC to make it resilient to disturbances at the supply side.

Nowadays, organizations and supply chains have to deal with a number of disturbances. The pressures to grow revenues, to take advantage of new technologies, to reduce costs, and to improve working capital and streamline operational procedures, pushed many organizations to establish strategies which increase risk exposure. As a result, companies can loose the ability to act quickly and effectively in response to disturbances. In this paper, different disturbances are identified and the relationship with their potential sources is discussed. A proposal for the classification of disturbances is presented; it is considered as a required step to understand how to model for better organization performance in situations characterised by high levels of exposure to disturbances.

Supply chains are facing numerous changes that are contributing to increasing their complexity and vulnerability to disturbances. To survive, supply chains must be resilient. However, the specificities of each supply chain allied to the uncertainty environment in which they operate, do not allow to determine, with advance, which is the most appropriate strategy to mitigate the negative effects of a likely disturbance. To understand how some management strategies improve supply chain resilience to a disturbance, and how they influence supply chain performance, scenario analysis was used. A case study related to a Portuguese automotive supply chain is presented. Two strategies widely used to mitigate disturbance effects on supply chains were considered and six scenarios were designed. The scenarios differ in terms of presence or absence of a disturbance and a mitigation strategy. To evaluate the scenarios designed, two key performance measurements were defined.

The supply chains environment is changing, and organizations are facing pressures, which means that vulnerability to disturbances is increasing. In this context, it is crucial for supply chain (SC) survival that managers identify the vulnerability of SCs to disturbance in a proactive manner. A fundamental prerequisite for identifying SC vulnerabilities is an understanding of the network that connects a business to its suppliers and to its customers. Therefore, to achieve this objective, SC mapping needs to be performed. After that, it will be possible to identify the vulnerability of the SC to disturbances, and to define strategic or operational policies to reduce the effects of these disturbances on the SC. The main purpose of this paper is to show that the mapping of the SC allows identify the specific vulnerabilities of a SC to disturbances. An illustrative case study is developed. The mapping process is performed using Value Stream Mapping.