By Dr Paul Joesbury
Brexit discussions are now starting to become more prevalent, with only a few weeks to go before the official withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, it still has the potential for significant supply chain disruption. This period of uncertainty will follow on from the significant interruption already seen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn is another example of high-profile external events seen in recent times including terrorism, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, wild fires, and tornadoes.
Supply Chain Resilience (SCR) has been the subject of academic research for a while, although typically focused on the significant events previously mentioned. The main difference with Brexit as a disrupting factor is that it is a constitutional change that has been discussed and debated ever since the UK public first signalled their intention to leave the EU
The effects of constitutional change on SCR is the subject of a paper written by Professor Linda Hendry and her colleagues (Hendry et al. 2019) and is focused on local food supply chains although their findings are applicable across other applications. Their study asks the question “How can SCR be built in local food supply chains during periods of constitutional change? and is developed from multiple case study analysis of 14 firms in the food sector. Organisations studied include farmers, processors, retailers, and non-government organisations (NGOs).
Below is a link to the translation of this paper which summarizes their research findings as part of a series of academic "Translation" documents created between Emerald Publishing and the Procurement Doctor, that aims to promote the linking of academia and practice. For additional information please contact emerald publishing on www.emeraldpublishing.com or the procurement doctor on www.procurementdoctor.com.
Click HERE to access the full paper
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