Efficiency within the supply chain is critical to keep acceptable product prices. However, the flexibility to address time-varying demand is more crucial. The supply chain global uncertainty can be classified as supply (upstream) uncertainty, process (internal) uncertainty, and demand (downstream) uncertainty (Ehtesham Rasi et al., 2019). This essay will discuss three types of uncertainty, including advanced sourcing, contract and subcontract dependency, and repository uncertainties, as identified by Resilinc CEO Bindiya Vakil.
Instead of firms depending on tier suppliers, Bindiya says that firms can look for external supply chain tiers to leverage vast amounts of multi-tier visibility information. This is not the case for firms due to the lack of mapping information (Resilinc Corporation, 2015). Other challenges resulting in advanced sourcing uncertainty include expenditure optimization, pressure to consolidate various suppliers, manual and complex processes, and suppliers’ compliance (Smorodinskaya et al., 2021). Due to these reasons, advanced sourcing is a global uncertainty for firms.
Contract manufacturing and subcontract dependency is a global uncertainty that led to the establishment of Resilinc. Bindiya explains that firms are disrupted in case an event that affects the supply chain occurs. Firms cannot perform event monitoring for global happenings disrupting their supply chain, interfering with the contract, and subcontracting dependency (Resilinc Corporation, 2015). Finally, Bandiya identified the repository as another form of global uncertainty. Firms lack a centralized repository that stores suppliers’ and customers’ data resulting in dependency and delayed costs (Resilinc Corporation, 2015). It also leads to decreased productivity and processes complications due to the absence of systematic integration.
Firms are tied to a few suppliers leading to a lack of visibility. The trade between the companies and those suppliers is driven by uncertainty. Modern firms rely solely on multiple tiers of suppliers spread across the world. Various companies lack visibility of their supplier networks and depend on manual procedures to track and address disruptions. Having technology facilitating data and supplier information availability is essential in mitigating supply chain mitigations.
References
Ehtesham Rasi, R., Abbasi, R., & Hatami, D. (2019). The effect of supply chain agility based on supplier innovation‎ and environmental uncertainty. International Journal of Supply and Operations Management, 6(2), 94–109. Web.
Resilinc Corporation (2015). Resilinc CEO, Bindiya Vakil, on How Resilinc Delivers Business Value and Competitive Advantage [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Smorodinskaya, N. V., Katukov, D. D., & Malygin, V. E. (2021). Global value chains in the age of uncertainty: Advantages, vulnerabilities, and ways for enhancing resilience. Baltic Region, 13(3), 78–107. Web.