Building a supply chain for emergency: A case study of Kingfa's mask supply chain

• Main Author: LI, Nanjing
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Supply Chain Construction; Emergency Demand; Manufacturing Flow; Strategic Sourcing; Critical Success Factors; Case Study; Business Administration, Management, and Operations; Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/419; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/etd_coll/article/1417/viewcontent/GPBA_AY2017_DBA_Li_Nanjing.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In case of emergency such as pandemic or earthquake, there are usually surge demands for some necessary products, which are usually far more than available production capacities thus it is necessary to quickly build more production capacities. However, building production capacities is not just building production lines but to constructing whole supply chains, from raw materials and equipment sourcing, manufacturing flow lines to demand management. To quickly construct a supply chain for fulfilling such emergency demands is very challenging both theoretically and practically. This thesis aims to develop a model of supply chain construction for emergency demand and identify the critical success factors for constructing the supply chain for emergency. Based on the theoretical framework of supply chain processes and elements, we develop a model for constructing the supply chain for emergency demands. With this theoretical framework, the case of KF company’s facemask project and the construction process of such an emergency supply chain is analyzed, where manufacturing flow, materials and equipment sourcing and supply relationship management are discussed in depth. The construction of KF’s facemask supply chain in Chinese context during COVID-19 pandemic is very successful and several critical success factors are identified, including maintaining good relationship with stakeholders, strong organizational ability and efficient execution of strategic decisions, owning core technology for the products of the supply chain, and responding to demand quickly. The model for constructing for constructing the supply chain can be employed for dealing with interruptive situations and the critical success factors may be useful in similar scenarios.