DIGITALIZATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (BASED ON THE SPORTS INDUSTRY COMPANY SIGNA SPORTS UNITED)

Abstract

The war in Ukraine has led to a change in the supply chains around the world. In the realities of turbulent environment, managing supply chains became an essential requirement. In addition, under the influence of COVID-19, new realities of management were formed, increasing the need for the businesses to integrate digital technologies in order to withstand the turbulence. Those companies which timely shifted their management strategies will be able to experience more advantages in the future. However, digitalizing the supply chains remains a challenging issue, the resolution to which the authors are attempting to provide in this article. The main purpose of the research is to investigate opportunities and challenges of the supply chain digitalization based on the Signa Sports United case, the European e-commerce leader in the sports industry. The article examines the main international expansion strategies in order to determine the safest option for the company to implement its business activities in other countries within the current conditions; the methods of establishing resilient and agile supply chains. The article also examines digitalization in the context of supply chain management through analysis of such processes as automation, integration of the Internet of Things, machine learning, predictive maintenance, blockchain, etc. As a result, it was found that the topic of supply chain management coincides with the company’s issue, as long as the latter experienced long-term supply chain disruptions. The company’s case helped to disclose the topic in greater depth based on a concrete example. The analysis of the existing strategies in Signa Sports United in combination with the research results act as a basis for development propositions. The article also discloses methods of increasing sustainability in business operations, as long as the impact on the environment is closely related to the supply chain, and its components are the main contributors to global climate change.