Overview

Global supply chains are being upended by trade tensions, geopolitical risks and changing economics. These conditions increase uncertainty in demand behavior and compromise the cost, responsiveness and operational performance of supply. Therefore, the logistics and supply chain industry faces more pressure of growing customer support, retailer demands on omnichannel fulfillment, and big data handling. However, this changing environment also provides new opportunities for businesses and investments. Because of all this, companies require expertise in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and in new technologies to be more efficient and competitive.

To contribute to the solution, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has launched The Supply Chain Initiative (SCI) to meet the increasing need of supply chain research and consulting. The SCI targets markets that are experiencing supply chain issues and inefficiencies, and most importantly: it provides guidance on how to increase supply chain flexibility and agility. Many times, cost-oriented supply chain efficiency comes with structural or network rigidity, such as limited number of suppliers and connecting nodes, plus constrained contract conditions. However, this rigidity-based efficiency may be more costly under uncertainty scenarios like the world is facing. Therefore, supply chain flexibility is key to coping with changing and unreliable conditions. An agile supply chain structure can adjust quickly to political, economic and operational changes around the world. However, what is the right flexibility-efficiency balance? Can there be a mixed strategy to make supply chains effectively robust and resilient to adverse conditions?