Creating Resilient Supply Chains: A Practical Guide

This report commissioned by the Department for Transport and undertaken by Cranfield School of Management’s Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management
(CLSCM) aims to clarify the complex issues inherent in the identification and management of supply chain vulnerability.

Its objective is to increase awareness, understanding and thus the ability of UK industry to cope with disruptions to its supply chains. To that end it provides insight and practical tools, which will assist managers in improving the resilience of their organisation’s supply chain networks.

To gauge awareness of supply chain vulnerability as a threat to business continuity a survey of senior supply chain professionals was undertaken together with an in-depth case study of one sector, military aircraft manufacturing.

The findings of the case study were validated by interviews with managers from seven ‘critical’ sectors of industry.

Impact of business structures on continuity
Supply chains are increasingly at risk of disruption and it can be argued that the greatest risks to business continuity lie in the wider supply chain of key suppliers and
customers (or more correctly supply/demand networks) rather than within the company itself.

Yet for the vast majority of organisations, business continuity planning remains a one-firm focused activity.