Supply chain resilience

The chapter will consist of a literature review that will be framed to address the following three questions. The first question is "What is a resilient supply chain?" The aim is to provide an in-depth understanding of resilience and to distinguish a supply chain which is resilient from one which is not. The second question is "Why companies should build a resilient supply chain?" Some factors have increased firms' vulnerability and the losses associated with unpredictable events. Companies should understand that the advantages linked to building resilience do not become evident only in case of disastrous events, but also during the ordinary operations execution. The third question is: "How to build resilience?" The most relevant ways to build resilience will be illustrated by drawing on some short case studies that were purposefully chosen in order to present a practical implementation of some of the different techniques used to create resilience. At the end of the chapter, conclusion, managerial implications, limitations and directions for future research will be provided.