La contribution des fournisseurs à la résilience de la chaîne logistique d'équipements de protection individuelle

The disruptions experienced by the healthcare supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of initiatives aimed at strengthening the resilience of this chain. This research takes the point of view of suppliers who were involved in the first months of the pandemic to fully understand their reading of events and thus be able to identify resilience initiatives to face future crises. The case under study is that of the PPE supply chain of the public healthcare and social services sector in the province of Quebec. Interviews with 23 suppliers were the main source of data, which was analyzed through the lens of social capital theory. This case study demonstrates that traditional resiliency initiatives such as safety stock or excess production capacity at suppliers would be better calibrated if buyers conducted a supplier market watch to anticipate major turbulence that could impact the supply chain.