Supply chain transiliency : enduring epidemics through resilience and business model innovation

Abstract

Beginning in late 2019, the COVID-19 epidemic spread throughout the world, causing unprecedented disruption to global supply chains. Disruptions triggered by disease epidemics differ from other types of supply chain disruptions. Not only does the spread of infection threaten human health and life, but epidemic-related disruptions are also unique in terms of their magnitude, duration, unpredictability, massive supply and demand shifts, and widespread disruption of transport networks. These differences have led scholars to question the adequacy of existing supply chain management theory for imbuing supply chains with the ability to resist, respond to and recover from epidemic-related disruption. A novel concept, supply chain transiliency, has been proposed as a possible alternative approach to better assist supply chains cope with the negative consequences of disruption during epidemics. Supply chain transiliency combines conventional supply chain resilience methods with business model innovations. This exploratory research employs qualitative methods to gain early insights into the potential value of this new approach to supply chain management during disease epidemics, thereby making an initial contribution to theory development, while also providing guidance for supply chain practitioners grappling with COVID-19 and future epidemics.