Title: Impacts of pandemics on supply chains: lessons learned, transition, and future

Authors: Nima Zaerpour; Amir Gharehgozli; Sonia Siddique; Phuong Dung Dao

Addresses: College of Business Administration, California State University, San Marcos, CA, USA ' College of Business and Economics, California State University, Northridge, CA, USA ' College of Business Administration, California State University, San Marcos, CA, USA ' College of Business Administration, California State University, San Marcos, CA, USA

Abstract: The major epidemics and pandemics, which have affected supply chains include MERS, H1N1, SARS, Ebola, and Zika. The most recent pandemic, which has influenced today's intertwined supply chains, is COVID-19, which disrupted the global supply chains. Common impacts include manufacturing disruption, work backlog, and supply issues. This paper aims to study these impacts, identify similarities and differences between the impacts of these pandemics, and develop practical recommendations. This paper systematically reviews the previous work on the effects of epidemics and pandemics on supply chains. In particular, it compares COVID-19 with other recent pandemics and epidemics. This paper aims to help businesses see how their supply chains could affect lead-time, supply and demand, financial management, and delivery. Furthermore, it proposes actionable recommendations to supply chain managers.

Keywords: supply chain disruption; pandemics; epidemics; COVID-19; competitive advantage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAOM.2023.135800

International Journal of Advanced Operations Management, 2023 Vol.15 No.3, pp.224 - 247

Accepted: 25 Aug 2023
Published online: 05 Jan 2024 *

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