Supply chain disruptions and Covid-19

摘要

Recently, I taught my first full class in front of a computer instead of in front of my students. Like nearly all universities, Penn State canceled in-person classes and moved to remote/online instruction. My class is for seniors majoring in supply chain management, and it is (and will be) somewhat awkward to teach a case-based discussion course online. Per the syllabus, the already-scheduled topic of supply chain risk management is taking on a whole new urgency for many firms, industries and society as a whole with the spread of Covid-19. It seemed like a good time to share some ol what we are and will be talking about in class with our supply chain partners. A caveat: My research expertise is in supply chain decision-making. With Christopher Craighead, now at the University of Tennessee and a Supply Chain Management Review, a sister publication of Modern, contributor, I co-wrote a popular case about how firms can deal with a supply chain disruption. Yet, that focused on the bankruptcy of a supplier and the impact on a Tier 1 firm. Today the news is about Disruption with a capital "D." So, what are some of the differences between Covid-19 and other disruptions? There could be more, but I discuss seven dimensions here, which are summarized in the table.