Importance of
Supply Chain Resilience

Disruptions in the world of supply chain have always been present, but have now evolved into more complex and more occurring shocks which have increased in their severity. According to the “Supply chain resilience report of 2020” (hubs, 2020), the COVID pandemic was by far the most severe and dangerous threat to the world’s global chains, more than any previous threats that the industries have previously witnessed be it cybercrime, natural disasters or any other unforeseeable chaos. This pandemic demonstrated how many companies fell hard because of the mismanagement of their operations and the severe losses they encountered within their supply chain systems.

However, the doctored resilience of those who managed to glide smoothly past the obstacles that the pandemic brought forward, showed how resiliency could be practiced. For instance, during the global pandemic, Toyota was one of the industries that was hit the hardest, but Toyota being always one step ahead, shifted part of its manufacturing from car production to ventilation production to help the suffering medical field during the pandemic (Toyota News, 2020).

Therefore, understanding how companies like Toyota manage to stay on the right path of supply chain resilience is linked to understanding how resiliency works in the operations of supply chain. Leading academics have defined this resiliency as the ability to resist the disruptions and overcome them through correct recovery (M. Morely, 2020).

Consequently, this same operation has to go through a stabilization phase to achieve its recovery after a disruption has occurred, and go back to operating in a normal manner. With the global pandemic hitting hard on so many supply chain systems, many companies have now shifted their powers on strengthening their resistance and recovery tactics against any form of disruptions that can hinder the operations of their supply chain.

Constant updates and upgrades, and redefining narratives are essential in the world of supply chain. Resilience should work hand in hand with efficiency to achieve the ultimate form of lean operations. In this fast-paced world, and its unpredictable context and environment, building a resilient supply chain is not a luxury anymore but a necessity to ensure and secure the operations of any supply chain system and make it armored against any form of disruption there is.