Incorporating Sustainability and Resilience to Disruption in a Supply Chain Performance Measurement System

A Resilient-Sustainable Supply Chain (RSSC) is a supply chain that has the capacity to detect, resist, and cope with unexpected disruptions while managing resources efficiently to strike a balance between profitability, environmental impact, and social welfare across the supply chain. However, there is a significant gap in studies that examine resilience and sustainability concurrently within a supply chain context. Furthermore, it is noted that the performance measures and concepts contributing to the development of an RSSC lack clarity and merit further exploration to identify their interdependencies. To this end, this research conducted a systematic literature review that identified nine characteristics of a RSSC: flexibility, agility, transparency, collaboration, information sharing, innovation, reengineering, supply chain risk management culture, and top management support. A conceptual framework was created by examining the interdependencies and interrelationships among these characteristics. This has enabled the categorisation of these characteristics into capabilities (flexibility, agility, transparency, and collaboration), enablers (information sharing, innovation, and reengineering), and moderators (supply chain risk management culture and top management support). This framework extends the current understanding of SCPM systems by identifying the strategic level measures that are concurrent in resilience and sustainability. The framework also contributes to the field of SCM where the categorisation of the characteristics as enablers, moderators and capabilities extends the understanding of the interconnected roles played by them in simultaneously developing resilience and sustainability in a SC context. However, resilience and sustainability within a supply chain context are recognised to have contradictory and complementary relationships, which give rise to trade-offs and synergies. To effectively develop a Resilient and Sustainable Supply Chain (RSSC) through the application of the conceptual framework, it is essential to identify these trade-offs and synergies. To this end, this research has developed a Resilience and Sustainability Evaluator Tool (ReSET). This tool has the potential to enable practitioners to concurrently evaluate the impact of strategic decisions on resilience and sustainability. By using simulation, ReSET facilitates the identification of how strategic decisions affect aspects of resilience and sustainability. The study also designed an interrelationship matrix that allows for the analysis and interpretation of the identified impacts of operational level performance measures on the aspects of resilience (anticipation, resistance, response & recovery) as well as sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) concurrently. The simulation results are utilised in conjunction with the interrelationship matrix to assess the impact of strategic decisions on resilience and sustainability through the lens of operational level measures. This tool makes a contribution to the area of SCPM systems by providing a novel approach to linking strategic decisions with SC performance through the lens of resilience and sustainability. A discrete event simulation model of a bottle supply chain (BottleSC) was developed. Additionally, a set of strategic decisions was designed to represent the characteristics identified for a Resilient and Sustainable Supply Chain (RSSC) in the conceptual framework. These strategic decisions were then modelled following scenarios using simulation. By deploying the ReSET, this research identified the trade-offs and synergies that emerge when the characteristics of a RSSC are implemented as SC strategic decisions. These trade-offs and synergies contribute to SCM by identifying avenues for concurrently developing resilience and sustainability by enhancing the synergies and managing the trade-offs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in the relevant field to validate the methods, processes, and findings of the research. While the interviews validated the research, the recommendation also identified that the scope of the results concerning the trade-offs and synergies between resilience and sustainability required additional confirmation to ensure generalisability. To this end, a second discrete event simulation model was developed for a strawberry supply chain (StrawSC). The findings from this model supported those from the manufacturing supply chain model (BottleSC). Through these findings, this study further emphasises the trade-offs and synergies that exist between resilience and sustainability. Understanding these trade-offs and synergies will allow practitioners to enhance resilience and sustainability in their supply chains simultaneously.