DeSCRe_IRVA - Design for Supply Chain Resilience (DeSCRe)

Supply chain resilience is the ability to proactively plan and design the supply chain network to quickly bounce back from a disruption event. Resilience is becoming more important during the last few years. Yet, there is a need for formalizing decisions regarding supply chain resilience measures. We will focus on supply chain resilience measures integrated into the design phase of a (new) product. This means that the products will be developed to integrate resilience, like modularity or dual suppliers. By investing in mitigation strategies instead of reacting when the disruption takes place, a more robust supply chain with fewer unexpected costs will be generated.

Our proposed project envisions three outcomes: a tool to map supply chain disruption risks, a framework to classify components based on a risk assessment, and a model for a cost-benefit analysis of resilience strategies. A framework will be developed to identify vulnerabilities and uncertainties in the supply chain and classify components based on the cost impact in case of disruption and the probability of a disruption event. The purpose is to align the component risk with a cost-effective resilience strategy. The cost-benefit analysis will quantify the value impact of introducing supply chain resilience in the early product design phase.

By implementing the generic framework for specific business cases, companies will obtain a framework to quantify the costs and benefits of incorporating resilience strategies. Besides, they get a clear overview of which components have the highest cost impact on the supply chain in case of disruption and, thus, which investments in resilience techniques will be beneficial.