Autor: Carolin Singer

In the context of risk management the demographic change is reflected in demand and environmental risks. On the one hand, the requirements of products’ target groups are changing. On the other hand, the labour bottleneck is increasing due to the shift in population and age structure. When choosing strategies and measures for dealing with the demographic change in supply chains, companies should consider organizational as well as technological and personnel management-related aspects. In this connection, the integral examination of the complete product line as well as the company’s and the supply chain partners’ development of capabilities are essential.

Nowadays, the economic determining factors are volatile and change dynamically leading to high uncertainty and risk for supply chain partners. Increased supply chain flexibility is not only considered as a success factor but is also essential for companies to remain competitive. The present article is based on selected results from expert interviews, a focus group as well as a survey analysing the status quo concerning supply chain risk management and the importance of flexibility. Afterwards, a process model is presented which consists of an approach to deduct strategies and measures in order to adjust supply chain flexibility in a structured way. The approach can be implemented for risk mitigation in practice.