Supply chain strategies in response to a black-swan event: a comparison of USA, French and Polish firms
The article aims to analyze the perceptions of supply chain practitioners in three different countries USA, Poland and France. This to understand the challenges and strategies which came as a consequence from the Covid-19 pandemic and how supply chain risk best can be mitigated. The anticipation was that such challenges and strategies would vary from country to country.
The research examines the country specific strategies and compares the robustness of USA, Poland, and France through the application of the EPIC framework as well as making a comparison of each focal country. The EPIC framework is an analysis which identifies the robustness of the Economy, Politics, Infrastructure and level of Competence within the country in scope.
The conclusions of the research are derived from questionnaires, incorporating and analyzing the feedback from 378 supply chain professionals in the three countries. They showed that when comparing supply chain strategies with the four variables, namely collaboration, supply design, distribution design, and contracts, there were small and insignificant differences. The same result emerged when comparing the supply chain strategies in response to Covid19. The authors mention educational aspects between three industrialized countries as a potential explanation; by and large the same textbooks based on the same research are used in these countries. However, the supply chain responses to the Black Swan in the form of COVID19 were less significant than expected. The reason for this result may be the considerable investments in changing supply chain structures and networks that such a chock potentially would require. The reader has the possibility to investigate the specific feedback from the questionnaires as the consolidated overview is presented in tables. Please see the article here https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ijlm-07-2023-0288/full/html
This well-written article is relevant to professionals in the supply chain and procurement fields, as well as those interested in understanding how the impact of a Black Swan event fuels attention to strategies and resilience within the supply chain. Importantly, the study verifies the importance of established relationships between companies and individuals, especially during crises such as Black Swan events where professionals tend to rely on already established relationships.
Reference
Enz, M.G., Ruel, S., Zsidisin, G.A., Penagos, P., Bernard Bracy, J. and Jarzębowski, S. (2024), “Supply chain strategies in response to a black-swan event: a comparison of USA, French and Polish firms”, The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 35 No. 7, pp. 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-07-2023-0288