Identifying vulnerabilities in the supply chain

The supply chains environment is changing, and organizations are facing pressures, which means that vulnerability to disturbances is increasing. In this context, it is crucial for supply chain (SC) survival that managers identify the vulnerability of SCs to disturbance in a proactive manner. A fundamental prerequisite for identifying SC vulnerabilities is an understanding of the network that connects a business to its suppliers and to its customers. Therefore, to achieve this objective, SC mapping needs to be performed. After that, it will be possible to identify the vulnerability of the SC to disturbances, and to define strategic or operational policies to reduce the effects of these disturbances on the SC. The main purpose of this paper is to show that the mapping of the SC allows identify the specific vulnerabilities of a SC to disturbances. An illustrative case study is developed. The mapping process is performed using Value Stream Mapping.