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Agile and resilient approaches to supply chain management: influence on performance and competitiveness

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Logistics Research

Abstract

Supply chain management must adopt different and more innovative strategies that support a better response to customer needs in an uncertain environment. Supply chains must be more agile and be more capable of coping with disturbances, meaning that supply chains must be more resilient. The simultaneous deployment of agile and resilient approaches will enhance supply chain performance and competitiveness. Accordingly, the main objective of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for the analysis of relationships between agile and resilient approaches, supply chain competitiveness and performance. Operational and economic performance measures are proposed to facilitate the monitoring of the influence of these practices on supply chain performance. The influence of the proposed agile and resilient practices on supply chain competitiveness is also examined in terms of time to market, product quality and customer service.

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Acknowledgments

This research is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Project MIT-Pt/EDAM-IASC/0033/2008 and Project PTDC/EME-GIN/68400/2006). Helena Carvalho was supported by a PhD fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/43984/2008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus Universitário, Caparica, 2829-516, Portugal

    Helena Carvalho & V. Cruz-Machado

  2. UNIDEMI, Department of Management and Economics, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV—Edifício Ernesto Cruz, Covilhã, 6200-209, Portugal

    Susana Garrido Azevedo

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  1. Helena Carvalho
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  2. Susana Garrido Azevedo
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  3. V. Cruz-Machado
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Correspondence to Susana Garrido Azevedo.

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Carvalho, H., Azevedo, S.G. & Cruz-Machado, V. Agile and resilient approaches to supply chain management: influence on performance and competitiveness. Logist. Res. 4, 49–62 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12159-012-0064-2

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