Supply Chain Risk Management

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.

Transportation and logistics operations are vulnerable to numerous types of risks. The globaly distributed production and sales lead to complex logistics tasks and more high-value goods are transported in global logistics networks. Nevertheless, detailed information about the condition of the goods and their integrity are not consistently available. The exact conditions during transport remain unclear. Efficient information and communication processes improve the coordination and effectiveness already in logistics. This article describes how the logistics network can be optimized by integration of cargo insurances as competent managers. Consequently, transport processes in terms of the potential dangers can be improved and entirely new business models can be developed.