Strategies to Manage the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Supply Chain: Implications for Improving Economic and Social Sustainability

Hasin Md. Muhtasim Taqi, Humaira Nafisa Ahmed, Sumit Paul, Maryam Garshasbi, Syed Mithun Ali, Golam Kabir and Sanjoy Kumar Paul
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Hasin Md. Muhtasim Taqi: Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
Humaira Nafisa Ahmed: Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
Sumit Paul: Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
Maryam Garshasbi: Industrial Systems Engineering, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Syed Mithun Ali: Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
Golam Kabir: Industrial Systems Engineering, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada
Sanjoy Kumar Paul: UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-25

Abstract: This paper aims to identify the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on supply chains and propose strategies to deal with the impacts in the context of the readymade garment (RMG) industry supply chain of an emerging economy: Bangladesh. To achieve the aims, a methodological framework is proposed through a literature review, expert inputs, and a decision-aid tool, namely the grey-based digraph-matrix method. A total of 10 types of negative impacts and 22 strategic measures to tackle the impacts were identified based on the literature review and expert inputs. Then, the grey-based digraph-matrix was applied for modeling the strategic measures based on their influence to deal with the impacts. Findings reveal that the strategies “manufacturing flexibility”, “diversify the source of supply”, and “develop backup suppliers” have significant positive consequences for managing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the RMG supply chain. The findings help industrial managers recover from supply chain disruptions by identifying and classifying the impacts and strategies required to manage the major supply chain disturbances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a theoretical contribution, this study is one of few initial attempts to evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and the strategies to deal with the impacts in the supply chain context.

Keywords: COVID-19 outbreak; readymade garment industry; supply chain; impacts; strategies; grey digraph-matrix (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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