Supply chain risk management practices in the automotive industry - an empirical study

Abstract

Purpose – Today’s globalization, outsourcing, and single point sourcing lead to complex and dependent supply chains. Consequently, companies’ face ever-increasing challenges regarding supply chain disruptions. Previous research mainly focused on establishing conceptual Supply Chain Risk Management approaches. Therefore the purpose of this study is to analyze how companies in the automotive industry actually deal with Supply Chain Risk Management in practice. Design/Methodology/Approach – First of all a literature review is undertaken in order to derive research gaps. This is followed by in-depth interviews with managers from the supply chain management sector. Further provided material completes the process of gathering information. Findings – The conducted research provides valuable insights into Supply Chain Risk Management on a company level, such as organizational aspects, methods and tools used in practice. In addition, findings regarding collaborative activities with supply chain partners are revealed. Based on the retrieved status quo, a useful instrument is proposed in order to bring the established Supply Chain Risk Management approaches to the next level.