ABSTRACT
A primary risk category consists of threats external to the supply chain and includes events such as dock strikes, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, and accidents. These are product portfolio, product design, capabilities and capacity, competitive responses, product channels, customer risk concerns, and matching supply and demand. Supply chain risk is present in all the dimensions. Editor Francis Quinn of the Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) has summarized research on supply chain risk performed at Dartmouth College. Risk management issues pervade SCM functions. Supply chain designs that address risks require an understanding of the hazards involved and feasible alternatives to minimizing their effect. For retailers, risk can result in late and unseasonable deliveries such as not receiving Christmas holiday inventory until February, long after the holidays are over, making the merchandise basically unsalable.
