Christopher and Peck (2004) maintain that resilience in the SC demands flexibility and agility. SCRES is contingent on efficient transportation and communication systems – rudimentary variables commonly overlooked by SC theorists.

SCRES addresses the post-disruption recoverability of the SC (Christopher and Peck, 2004; Peck, 2005). Ponomarov and Holcomb, (2009, p.131) provide a precise definition of SCRES: “the adaptive capability of the supply chain to prepare for unexpected events, respond to disruptions, and recover from them and maintain continuity of operations at the desired level of connectedness and control over structure and function.”

Christopher and Peck (2004) propose four basic conditions of SCRES:

  1. Resilience must characterize the entire SC design.
  2. High level collaboration helps identify and mitigate risks.
  3. SC design must enable agility – the ability to respond rapidly to disruption.
  4. Risk-awareness must be inculcated at all levels, and a management culture of collaboration established.

Christopher and Peck (2004) also proffer SCRM as the antecedent of SCRES. Empirical support, they contend, exists for SCRM, but for SCRES there is only conceptual support. To its credit however, SCRES is premised on the realist position that resilience planning is sensible because risk is natural and disruption inevitable.

To summarize, SCRES focuses on the SC’s adaptive capability to respond successfully to temporary disruption. According to Sheffi and Rice (2005), this capability is a triad of readiness, responsiveness, and recovery. Christopher and Peck (2004) argue for adaptive re-engineering of the resilient SC at the system level. Ponomarov and Holcomb (2009) delineate the elements of resilience at the capability level, identifying flexibility, velocity, visibility, and collaboration as the four crucial capabilities.

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