Supply chain managers’ business continuity fears surveyed
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- Published: Wednesday, 09 March 2016 07:45
APICS, the professional association for supply chain management, and Michigan State University (MSU) have launched a new report on the challenges pressuring today’s supply chain professionals.
The report, ‘Supply Chain Issues: What’s Keeping Supply Chain Managers Awake at Night?’ investigates the current business practices of more than 50 supply chain organizations and identifies critical issues. The paper is part of ‘Supply Chain Management: Beyond the Horizon’, a multi-year research project conducted by MSU’s Eli Broad School of Business and supported by the APICS Supply Chain Council and the John H. McConnell Chair in Business Administration at MSU.
The areas researched for the report include threats and challenges, with many of the executives expressed broad concerns regarding supply chain risks. Continuity planning was a theme commonly mentioned by study participants.
The report states that:
“Discussions centered on the need to build business continuity considerations into new product development, how to decide when to invest in resiliency, and the additional challenges involved with continuity planning when lean operations are involved. Planning also becomes an issue when entering new markets.”
Reputational damage emerged as a key concern, with respondents saying that the issue is becoming a greater threat due to the rise of social media.
