Title: Toward understanding today's supply chain problems: a system thinking approach

Authors: J. Brian Atwater; Paul H. Pittman; Linda Christiansen

Addresses: School of Business, Indiana University Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN 47150, USA ' School of Business, Indiana University Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN 47150, USA ' School of Business, Indiana University Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN 47150, USA

Abstract: Recent studies have concluded supply chain managers should develop a systemic understanding of their supply chains. This paper proposes the use of a systems dynamics tool called a causal loop diagram (CLD) to provide that systemic perspective. We start with a discussion of the theoretical evolution of the fields of supply chain management and system dynamics. We then show how to create a CLD, and then use the tool to draw a series of generic diagrams illustrating how supply chains have evolved and the key connections driving them today. We then demonstrate the use of a CLD by showing how the generic CLD developed in the paper can help surface key questions supply managers should ask when making strategic supply chain decisions. We conclude by identifying several other issues supply chain managers face and discuss the role CLDs can play in assisting them.

Keywords: systems thinking; supply chain management; causal loop diagram; CLD.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLEG.2023.132341

International Journal of Logistics Economics and Globalisation, 2023 Vol.10 No.2, pp.124 - 144

Received: 04 May 2022
Accepted: 29 Jan 2023
Published online: 18 Jul 2023 *

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