Sustainable global supply chain management model post-Covid-19

The unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic is expected to leave a lasting impression on the demand and operations in the international market. If nothing else the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of existing supply chains and the need for international businesses to reinvent their global sourcing and supply chain management practices for sustainable competitive advantage and crisis survival.In this chapter, we argue that, integrating and customising closed loop supply chain model and traditional supply management (SM) practices according to the particular industry’s operational context will allow international businesses to enjoy the economic advantages from international operation under normal circumstances, without compromising their ability to produce for the focal organisation’s country of origin in case of a future crisis. Similarly, their international manufacturing facilities and supply chain partners can also keep producing for their respective local market by using forward and reverse supply chains during the crisis. SM practices will help empower the supply chain partners and improve the coordination and information flow between the stakeholders to sustain the process. In addition, the supply chain participants will need to have a variety of contingent models available to them in order to be able to meet a variety of critical scenarios with the most extreme being a long term disruption to the supply chain.