In Tech Resilience

7
Supply Chain Resilience Using
the Mapping Approach
A.P. Barroso, V.H. Machado and V. Cruz Machado

UNIDEMI, Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica e Industrial, Faculdade de Ciências e
Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica
Portugal
1. Introduction
The supply chain environment is changing. Globalisation and changes demanded by
stakeholders have influenced theattitudes 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 andcompetitiveness. 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 chaindisturbance, 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.
1.1 Background
In recent years, there has been an increase in the likelihood of the occurrence of
disturbances.Natural catastrophes, such as what happened on the island of Madeira
(Portugal) in February 2010, serious accidents resulting from technical faults, such as the oil
spill that is taking place in the Gulf of Mexico, and economic crises, such as the one we are
going through now with the international financial crisis caused by the failure of Lehman
Brothers, are examples of events that causedisturbances that can have an adverse impact on
supply chain management.
These disturbances can have characteristics that make them difficult to anticipate, and they
can have severe negative consequences, not only in the supply chain entities where they
directly occur, but also in the supply chains where the entities are integrated, since they
generally lead to a cascade effect.
Disturbances maycause disruptions in flows of information, materials and/or finance in one
or more supply chain entities. These disruptions may have a negative influence on a supply
chain’s normal operations, thus making it vulnerable and reducing its performance and
competitiveness. Therefore, it is fundamental to make a supply chain resilient to disturbances.

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Supply Chain Management

Theresilience of a supply chain entity is defined as the ability of that entity to be able to
react to disturbances and return to its original state or a more desirable one (Christopher &
Peck, 2004; Ponomarov & Holcomb, 2009). So, to make a supply chain resilient to
disturbances, it is essential to understand the network that connects the supply chain
entities. Therefore, it is essential to have anoverall vision of the supply chain and of the
principal characteristics regarding its entities and flows.
Supply chain mapping is a tool that allows for a macro-graphic representation of the supply
chain (current state). When subjected to a disturbance, through this current state it is
possible to build a potential future state. With the current state and the future state, we have
the ability toidentify if the supply chain is resilient to such disturbance. If the supply chain
is not resilient to the disturbance, managers may take appropriate measures to respond to
this disturbance, i.e., they may adopt mitigation policies, strategic or operational policies, to
reduce the adverse effects of such disturbance and make the supply chain resilient.
The evaluation of the impact of the...