Supply Chain Risk Management in a Digital Era: Evidence from SMEs of Clothing Retailers in Australia

Abstract

With the increased globalisation and disruptions faced by businesses in this digital era and the occurrence of natural disasters such as floods and disease outbreaks in the world, supply chain risks and management of those risks are major challenges for businesses, especially for SMEs of clothing retailers in Australia. This study, hence, is carried out using an exploratory case study research method, and the data have been collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with key informants from managerial levels of 20 Australian SMEs of clothing retailing businesses to identify various supply chain risks and their management processes. This study finds five supply chain risks, namely supply risk, demand risk, financial risk, environmental risk, and operational risk, that the SMEs of clothing retailers mostly face in the supply chain. This study also finds that most of the investigated retailers lack a formal risk identification approach, though they informally use the reactive and proactive methods of risk identification. Furthermore, the assessment methods are not well established in most of the participating firms, and supplier monitoring receives more attention compared to their own performance to deal with their supply chain risks. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by being one of the first empirical studies to explore the SMEs of clothing retailers’ supply chain risks and their management processes in the Australian business context, which can add value in guiding supply chain design decisions for SMEs in other sectors.