The Relevance of Supply Chain Preparedness on the Long-Term Sustainability of SMEs

Abstract

The variety of risks and the frequency with which they can disrupt a supply chain are now vastly wider than ever, rendering heightened volatility the emerging norm for contemporary supply chains. Thus, resilience has grown in importance as a component of supply chain management. It is suggested that firms increase risk prevention and response strategies to inject resilience into supply chains. SMEs require resilient supply chains to anticipate potential changes, react to actual changes, and deliver superior value. By creating strategies that enable the supply chain to recover normal operations after a disruption, building supply chain resilience can assist in lessening and overcoming vulnerabilities to risks. The chapter aims to provide a detailed insight into the impact of one critical dimension of supply chain resilience, supply chain preparedness, which is aimed at boosting SME sustainability.