Responding to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: A Black Swan event for omnichannel retailers

IF 1.1 Q4 MANAGEMENT
A. N. Weber
{"title":"Responding to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: A Black Swan event for omnichannel retailers","authors":"A. N. Weber","doi":"10.4102/jtscm.v15i0.628","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented growth in digital commerce and has accelerated the digital transformation of many retailers. An unforeseen event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is often referred to as a ‘Black Swan’ event – being of low probability to occur but causing substantial disruptions to a supply chain. Lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus resulted in significant external and internal disruptions to retailers’ supply chains. Omnichannel retailer’s ability to respond to the pandemic’s disruption hinges on resilient supply chain strategies.Objectives: This article explored the major supply chain disruptions experienced by South African omnichannel retailers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it investigated the response strategies employed by the retailers as part of their efforts to mitigate the disruptions caused.Method: This study followed a qualitative, exploratory research design. Data were collected through 17 semi-structured interviews with the senior managers from nine different large omnichannel retailers in South Africa.Results: The study found that omnichannel retailers experienced external and internal supply chain disruptions during the pandemic. The most noticeable external disruption was the drastic migration of consumers to online channels and the retailers’ inability to meet demand surges. Internally, systems constraints of both front- and back-end operations were identified as prominent disruptions. In response, the omnichannel retailers highlighted the importance of being agile to unlocking investments and scale capacity, to plan for the long-term, and to make strategic decisions, fluently.Conclusion: This article adds to the body of knowledge by being one of the first empirical studies to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on omnichannel supply chains in South Africa. In addition, this article adds to the scarce publications on the impact a ‘Black Swan’ event such as the COVID-19 pandemic can have on supply chains and possible ways retailers can react to similar disruptions in future.","PeriodicalId":43985,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2021-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"20","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jtscm.v15i0.628","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"MANAGEMENT","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 20

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented growth in digital commerce and has accelerated the digital transformation of many retailers. An unforeseen event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is often referred to as a ‘Black Swan’ event – being of low probability to occur but causing substantial disruptions to a supply chain. Lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus resulted in significant external and internal disruptions to retailers’ supply chains. Omnichannel retailer’s ability to respond to the pandemic’s disruption hinges on resilient supply chain strategies.Objectives: This article explored the major supply chain disruptions experienced by South African omnichannel retailers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it investigated the response strategies employed by the retailers as part of their efforts to mitigate the disruptions caused.Method: This study followed a qualitative, exploratory research design. Data were collected through 17 semi-structured interviews with the senior managers from nine different large omnichannel retailers in South Africa.Results: The study found that omnichannel retailers experienced external and internal supply chain disruptions during the pandemic. The most noticeable external disruption was the drastic migration of consumers to online channels and the retailers’ inability to meet demand surges. Internally, systems constraints of both front- and back-end operations were identified as prominent disruptions. In response, the omnichannel retailers highlighted the importance of being agile to unlocking investments and scale capacity, to plan for the long-term, and to make strategic decisions, fluently.Conclusion: This article adds to the body of knowledge by being one of the first empirical studies to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on omnichannel supply chains in South Africa. In addition, this article adds to the scarce publications on the impact a ‘Black Swan’ event such as the COVID-19 pandemic can have on supply chains and possible ways retailers can react to similar disruptions in future.
应对COVID-19大流行造成的供应链中断:全渠道零售商的黑天鹅事件
背景:2019冠状病毒病大流行引发了数字商务前所未有的增长,加速了许多零售商的数字化转型。不可预见的事件,如COVID-19大流行,通常被称为“黑天鹅”事件,即发生的可能性很低,但会对供应链造成严重破坏。为遏制冠状病毒的传播而实施的封锁限制导致零售商供应链受到严重的外部和内部干扰。全渠道零售商应对大流行中断的能力取决于弹性供应链战略。目的:本文探讨了由于COVID-19大流行,南非全渠道零售商经历的主要供应链中断。此外,它调查了零售商所采用的响应策略,作为他们减轻造成的中断的努力的一部分。方法:本研究采用定性、探索性研究设计。数据是通过17个半结构化访谈收集的,访谈对象是来自南非9个不同的大型全渠道零售商的高级经理。结果:研究发现,在疫情期间,全渠道零售商经历了外部和内部供应链的中断。最明显的外部干扰是消费者大量转向在线渠道,以及零售商无法满足激增的需求。在内部,前端和后端操作的系统约束被确定为突出的中断。作为回应,全渠道零售商强调了灵活地释放投资和规模能力、长期规划和流畅地做出战略决策的重要性。结论:本文是第一批探讨COVID-19大流行对南非全渠道供应链影响的实证研究之一,增加了知识体系。此外,这篇文章增加了关于“黑天鹅”事件(如COVID-19大流行)对供应链的影响以及零售商未来应对类似中断的可能方法的稀缺出版物。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
CiteScore
2.00
自引率
6.70%
发文量
37
审稿时长
20 weeks
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信