Synchronicity Management: Mitigating Supply Chain Risks by Systematically Taking Demand Changes as Starting Point—A Lesson From the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

Analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on supply management, this article identifies “synchronicity management” as a novel supply risk management strategy. Synchronicity management synchronizes the supply chain with customer demand. In this way, overreactions to crises can be prevented. First, we introduce the supply risk management model from Hoffmann et al. (2013) and use this model to analyze our results from 26 interviews on supply management implications of the corona crisis with companies in a Central European region. Based on this, we derive suggestions for holistically improving future supply risk management processes and derive four propositions on how to manage crisis from a supply perspective. In addition, we explore implications for supply risk management from a strategic and operative point of view. In this context, we present a tool on how procurement can synchronize the supply chain with customer demand changes. Finally, future trends in supply chain risk and resilience management are being analyzed.