Supply Chain Resilience in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

The unusual and dynamic global political situation, man-made and natural disasters, and an upsurge in economic instability internationally are some of the key factors disrupting the global business operations and their supply chains. Similarly, a new dimension known as the fourth industrial revolution is inducing a rapidly changing technological world and its adoption race has also started showing its impact on company’s value chains and started setting new standards by creating technological competitive advantages. Therefore, it is imminent for companies to brace themselves for technological, organizational, and environmental changes. Recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic has perfectly showcased the fragility of businesses operations and over-reliance on global supply chains. Nonetheless, a similar situation has also taught us that being resilient, flexible, and agile in such unprecedented circumstances could be beneficial for the organizations. Thus, this chapter precisely articulates the importance of resilience entering into the fourth industrial revolution and presents, how supply chain visibility, collaboration, flexibility, and control could be the ingredients of the winning recipe for businesses. Furthermore, Industry 4.0 promises to revolutionize how the supply chain operates. It provides companies with several predictive capabilities of their supply chains helping them to mitigate and anticipate any risk or disruption caused by the changes in the external environment. Thus, resilience combined with Industry 4.0 could redefine corporations’ operations and supply chain forever.