How can companies transform supply chains so they are not only resilient to internal and external shocks but also innovative and competitive in a digital world?

Supply Chains are global and complex interconnected networks, where the impact on one part of this network can cause huge disruptions across the entire supply chain network.

These Global value chains (GVCs) have allowed companies to spread their operations across trade corridors and benefit from global markets. Both transnational corporations (TNCs) and Small and medium-sized enterprises have benefited from the liberalisation of trade and investment, lower transport costs, advances in information and communication technology, international outsourcing and innovations in logistics (e.g. RFID). For example, the total value of international goods exports from the North East of England is around £12 billion per year, equivalent to just over 26 per cent of the region’s GVA (Gross Value Added).

While the benefits of this GVCs have allowed companies to minimise costs, reduce bottlenecks, drive asset utilisation and operate just-in-time models, the intensity of a sudden external shock (like Covid-19) has exposed many vulnerabilities to their supply chains. Company leaders are asking questions like “How can we transform our supply chains so they not only resilient to internal and external shocks but also innovative and competitive in a digital world?”

Professor Kiran Fernandes Associate Dean for Internationalisation and Professor of Operations Management at Durham University Business School talks us through research undertaken at Durham examining data of over 1,739,669 UK companies. The research team argue that companies can adopt several strategies like improving managerial decision-making capability, enabling end-to-end visibility, increasing collaboration to connect supply chains and leveraging advanced technologies such as the Artificial Intelligence to be resilient and innovative