An empirical study on the building blocks of resilience in British food supply chains

Food is, of course, essential to the continuation of human life, and today’s food supply networks or as they are also known “farm to fork” are becoming more diverse and dynamic. It is an undeniable fact that the changing climate has resulted in more extreme weather conditions than before. Simultaneously, the world has become more interconnected, and the population continues to grow and get richer, thus demand for food is increasing, whilst natural resources are depleting quickly. Risks due to considerable environmental degradation have the potential to spread through the food system and adversely affect access and availability of food. According to the UK Government (2014), food supply chains play a significant role in the country’s economy, accounting for seven percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and food manufacturing is still the largest manufacturing sector in the United Kingdom (UK Government, 2014). It is a sector which is making an important contribution to growth, including through the expansion of exports. However, to fulfil the demand for food by its growing population, the UK also relies significantly on imported food. The aim of this study is to investigate “resilience” as a form of capability for risk mitigation within food supply chains. This research identifies the influencing factors, that can affect supply chain resilience, such as building blocks and their interactions. To achieve this aim, three major food companies, that have an active presence in British food supply chains, have contributed to this study. This empirical research adapted a multiple case study approach and used qualitative data to interpret answers to the research questions. The main sources of evidence were the interviewee responses to the semi-structured interview questions. The interviewee’s answers relating to each case study company were analysed through a qualitative data pattern matching analysis technique. Furthermore, the findings of the case study companies were compared against each other. To increase the credibility and validity of the research findings, observational studies and document archival reviews were conducted and their findings were triangulated against the findings of interview responses. Finally, this research drew a theoretical framework for resilient food supply chains in which the drivers of resilience and their interactions in food supply chains were identified. It also sheds light onto the common misconceptions between risk management and resilience, and provides an unambiguous definition for resilient food supply chains

Pharmaceutical supply chain resilience. An exploratory analysis of vulnerabilities and resilience strategies in the face of dynamic disruptions in the UK pharmaceutical supply chain

Pharmaceutical supply chains are susceptible to disruptions which impact on the operational and financial performance of firms as well as patient safety. This study aimed to explore why the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain (PSC) in the UK is susceptible to the impact of dynamic disruptions and examine how resilience strategies have were employed to reduce the effects of these disruptions. The Complex Adaptive System (CAS) theory was used as a framework in an exploratory research design using mixed-methods. The qualitative data were gathered through 23 semi-structured interviews with key supply chain actors across the PSC in the UK to explore their experiences. The findings from these semi-structured interviews were used to develop a survey which was distributed to a broader spectrum of supply chain actors where the final sample from the survey was (n=106). The data were triangulated to discuss the research findings. The initial results revealed power, conflict and complexities as drivers of vulnerabilities in the PSC. Antecedents for building resilience strategies included visibility, flexibility and joint decision making as recovery strategies and resource sharing as the resistance strategy. CAS provided a systemic approach to understanding PSC resilience rather than in parts. In doing so, it took into consideration the various elements that make up the entire system. Thus, vulnerabilities and resilience strategies were outcomes of the interactions between supply chain actors. The findings demonstrated that CAS, as a theory, provided a framework that was beneficial in exploring and gaining insights into PSC resilience. Also, by combining the two datasets (interviews and survey), an original output was proposed -the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Resilience Framework (PSCRF)- which was used to recommend resilience strategies suitable for mitigating disruptions in the PSC

BRIDGE: The Heritage of Connecting Places and Cultures, Conference Proceedings

Official Conference Proceedings for the international conference BRIDGE: The Heritage of Connecting Places and Cultures (6-10 July 2017, Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, UK) Organised by the Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage, University of Birmingham, and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust