Supply Chain Risk Management – Developments, Issues and Challenges

The management of risk in supply chains has now become an established, albeit fairly recently, element in the fields of Supply Chain Management (SCM), corporate strategic management and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). In addition to such cross-functional contributions, Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) contributes to the decision making processes in most functional areas within a business (e.g. marketing decisions concerning product delivery lead times; health and safety management within production operations). The essence of this Handbook is the capture, interpretation and dissemination of the latest developments in research, practice and policy in what is proving to be a very rapidly developing field. The text is designed to appeal to researchers, scholars, policy makers and practitioners alike, whilst seeking to ensure that what is presented is well grounded in robust empirical methodologies and evidence or accurately represents the structures, practices and processes employed in industry. Like all developing fields of study, SCRM draws on other disciplines and fields of study. Hence, many of the contributing authors approach the issues from distinct and differing perspectives.

This opening chapter of the Handbook will seek to summarize the evolution in the field to date, providing introductory explanations of concepts and definitions employed and identifying the key issues and concerns that provide the essence of SCRM. An explanation of the overall structure of the Handbook is provided together with a brief resume of the focus and outcomes of each of the remaining chapters. The Chapter concludes with a review of the current trends in the field and suggestions about the next phase in its development.