Introduction: Supply chains consist of the flow and transformation of raw materials into finished products and the eventual distribution of the end products among the manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers. Supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions which can hamper the smooth flow of products to the end users. Hence, the importance of mitigation strategies for managing disruptions cannot be overemphasized. It has also been premised from this study that mitigation strategies that are characterised by both soft and hard attributes will yield better result on operational performance. This study is also based on the assumption that the use of both hard and soft mitigation strategies will yield synergistic effects on operational performance. This is a theoretical study that used the context of interaction approach of contingency theory to develop propositions that could be tested in further studies in the area of supply chain risk management.
Introduction: This study aims at assessing the supply chain disruptions and mitigating strategies in manufacturing firms. There is need to concentrate research efforts on developing frameworks that match supply chain disruptions with mitigating strategies (Oke and Gopalakrishnan, 2009). This study develops a conceptual framework that fits supply chain disruptions with mitigating strategies. This research work establishes that supply-driven and demand-driven supply chain disruptions are important classifications of supply chain disruptions. This is based on the assumption that there is either a supply or demand consequence of any form of supply chain disruption. Demand-managed and supply-managed mitigation strategies are proposed to mitigate demand-driven and supply-driven supply chain disruptions respectively. This is based on the premise that the strategies for managing disruptions should fit the disruption types.
Introduction: This paper seeks to understand how price elasticity of demand can be used to determine the type of manufacturing strategy for products. Based on the theory of Swift, Even flow and Contingency theory of fit, this work builds on the well established framework of the product-process matrix. The goal of this study is to use the product–process matrix concept to further analyze the effect of product attribute in the context of “Price elasticity of Demand” on manufacturing strategy’s choice.
Introduction: The importance of effectively managing supply chain disruption is an important direction in the area of supply chain management. Companies need to be prepared on how to combat the supply chain disruption menace because of its need for proactive response whenever it occurs. This work using the non-logistic theories of contingency theory of fit proposed the need to fit the mitigating strategies against disruptions to the type of disruption and the environment. Likewise, following the main idea of the Theory of Constraint (TOC), the mitigating strategies against supply chain disruptions should concentrate efforts on the critical components in the supply chain. This is because the critical components determine the performance of the entire supply chain. The purpose of the study is to analyse the credible means of mitigating against supply chain disruptions.