7 Supply Chain Resilience Using the Mapping Approach

The supply chain environment is changing. Globalisation and changes demanded by stakeholders have influenced the attitudes of supply chain entities. These entities are becoming more professional, showing ever increasing levels of complexity, and adopting philosophies and management practices with the objective of increasing their levels of competitiveness. Competitiveness is a critical factor in the success of a supply chain. Disturbances increase supply chain and may reduce it performance and competitiveness. It is therefore fundamental for a supply chain to be resilient to disturbances. The chapter begins by defining and discussing the central concepts of resilience and disturbance, within the scope of supply chain management. Based on a mapping approach, a methodology is proposed for improving the supply chain's resilience to a disturbance proactively. After the selection of a supply chain disturbance, and the supply chain mapping, a mitigation strategy is chosen to make the supply chain resilient to this disturbance. A case study is presented to illustrate how the mapping approach support managers in the decision making process to make the supply chain resilient.