Transformation of electronics supply chains in the context of COVID-19

Abstract

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt in all business sectors and their supply chains. The pandemic has shown that some supply chains are vulnerable and not sustainable in the context of such crises. The purpose of this paper is to examine the major transformations of supply chains in the electronics sector in the context of a pandemic. In the view of a pandemic, three different transformations of supply chains are observed, namely: 1) a return from a Just-in-time (JIT) strategy to a Just-in-case (JIC) due to increased delivery times for raw materials; 2) relocation/return of production to the countries of origin in order to reduce dependence on third countries; 3) increased investment in digitization to reduce the number of intermediaries between the producer and the end user. In the light of the above transformations, a multi-criteria assessment and analysis of secondary data will be carried out within this article to identify the criteria that have had the greatest impact on these transformations and what companies need to address to improve their supply chains’ resilience, sustainability and future recovery from crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.