Humanitarian Supply Chain Resilience 5 credits

Business environments are increasingly characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It exposes supply chains and networks to many risks that require systematic analysis and mitigation. When left unchecked, risks can become complex crises with severe negative effects for business and society. In the ongoing effort to anticipate and prevent complex crises, risk management is a proactive process focused on reducing the likelihood and impact of negative events. Therefore, risk management has a distinct role in crisis management, especially in the stages of risk identification and analysis, which can be valuable tools for enhancing efficiency during a crisis. In this course, you will learn an innovative approach to risk management and supply chain resilience that integrates insights from socio-ecological systems and humanitarian operations. You will broaden and deepen your understanding of supply chain resilience along four dimensions: (1) preparedness, similar to a strategic and resource-based perspective; (2) response, akin to a learning and sense-making approach, with techniques adapted from commercial operations for disaster response to save lives; (3) reconstruction; and (4) mitigation, which involves risk and knowledge management strategies. After completing the course, you will be able to identify, address, and accommodate various present and future complex crises and wars that can disrupt supply chains and networks of actors, resources, and activities, and hinder a business from achieving its short-term and long-term strategic objectives.