Supply Chain Vulnerability and Its Drivers

While a supply chain disraption is the trigger that leads to the occurrence of risk, it is not the sole determinant of the final loss. It seems consequential that also the susceptibility of the supply chain to the harm of this situation is of significant relevance. This leads to the concept of supply chain vulnerability. The basic premise is that supply chain characteristics are antecedents of supply chain vulnerability and impact both the probability of occurrence as well as the severity of supply chain dismptions. 

In this contribution, this latter definition is apphed and the atomistic perspective (supply chain vulnerabihty on the individual firm-level) is takere We follow the notion that supply chain vulnerabihty is a function of certain supply chain characteristics and that the loss a firm incurs is a result of its supply chain vulnerabihty to a given supply chain disraption (Wagner and Bode 2006b). 

we decided to apply a different approach and to distinguish (1) cause-oriented practices and (2) effect-oriented practices of supply chain risk management. 

---