Managing Capabilities for Supply Chain Resilience Through it Integration

Abstract

Abstract. The trend for e-commerce, estimated population size to 11 billion by 2050, and an increase in urbanization level to 70 % is requiring to re-think the current supply chain. These trends changed the distribution process: delivery distances are decreasing, the product variety is increasing, and more products are being sold in smaller quantities. Therefore, the concept of supply chain resilience has gained more recognition in recent years. The scientific literature analysis conducted by the authors indicate several capabilities that influence supply chain resilience. Collaboration, flexibility, redundancy and integration are the most influential capabilities to supply chain resilience. However, the authors identify that the combination of these capabilities to supply chain resilience is under researched. The authors indicate that by combining these capabilities with the upcoming technologies of industry 4.0, supply chain resilience can be achieved. In the future, the authors are planning to conduct further research to identify the influence of these capabilities to supply chain resilience, to quantify supply chain resilience, and to provide further practices of industry 4.0 concept usage for supply chain resilience.

Collaborative Networks: A Pillar of Digital Transformation

“…The innovation and artificial intelligence principles associated with Industry 4.0 developments, coupled with the different tools and methodologies adopted in the digital transformation should enable organizations to prepare for, resist, and rapidly recover from detrimental impacts of disruptive events. The target environment aimed at should have the potential to embrace stressors and help to reinforce the overall resilience and anti-fragility of organizations through characteristics like self-optimization, and real-time decision-making [118]. Indeed, the development of Industry 4.0 creates the opportunity to further develop resilience/anti-fragility-related capabilities.…”

“…Examples of such relevant capabilities include flexibility, redundancy, agility, visibility, and adaptability. Through proper design principles the ongoing digital transformation needs to aim at engineered systems that can achieve/improve these characteristics to be able to resist change, and autonomously recover from disruptive situations [85,118]. Table 2 gives examples of these relevant resilience/anti-fragility related capabilities.…”

“…Ability to make best use of production resources and reduce costs through smart ways of doing things in order to respond to an unexpected shortage of resources [118].…”

“…In particular in the context of collaborative business ecosystems [50], the establishment of dynamic collaboration ties among organizations, creating "pools" of shared competencies and assets, offers a promising approach to increase organizations' agility, share risks, and thus better cope with unforeseen disruptive events. Table 3 shows some other relevant resilience/anti-fragility aiming strategies that are about getting real-time data and combine with different advanced technologies to help organizations survive, adapt, and seize the opportunity to grow in changing environments [118]. Further examples can be found in [85].…”

“…Working together to better manage disruptions through exchanging data, resources, and ideas (collaborative problem solving) [118].…”