Global Supply Chains Essays Example

A global supply chain refer to a series of companies that are interconnected by the flow of materials from various parts of the world up to the final commodity, and associated information among the producers, agents, suppliers and the customers. While companies adapt and change to new circumstances, the risk of disruption increases as the supply chain extends across continents. Whether internal or external, the risks to a supply chain may completely disrupt a company’s operations if they are not managed well.
One of the major internal sources of risk to a global supply chain are cultural gaps between the diverse companies. As companies, outsource their products from different suppliers, the lack of understanding of their partners corporate ethics and mode of operation may derail operations. Such cultural gaps may lead to delays in production, sub-standard products and want of data integrity. Due to the difference in perspective, the various companies set of priorities may tend to clash. What is acceptable to do in one company may lead to complaints from the other.
Macroeconomic factors and local government legislation are sources of external risks to the supply chain. The fluctuation of currency, and the dynamic nature of government legislation may disrupt even the best laid corporate plans. To tackle both the internal and external sources of risk, companies have to ensure that they put in place measures to promptly identify the disruption in the supply chain at the source. Since the supply chain is long, waiting to detect disruption at the end point leads to time wastage and disrupts production. Constant monitoring of the supply chain ensures the risk are noted and dealt with in their infant stage.
Additionally, companies ought to enable their personnel to cope proactively with risks. Rather than wait for directions from managers, employee should be able to deal with any risk that occurs. Such a measure, when fused with constant monitoring, ensures the control of internal and external risks in a global supply chain.

Works Cited

Cross, Barry and Jason Bonin. "How to Manage Risks in a Global Supply Chain." Ivey Business Journal (2010): 4-6. Document. 13 January 2015. <http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/strategy/how-to-manage-risk-in-a-global-supply-chain#.VLSB3XumRZs>.
Sodhi, ManMohan S and Christopher S Tang . Managing Supply Chain Risk. New York: Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. Document.