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In light of the recently experienced systemic shocks (the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine), we investigate supply chain robustness. We aim to understand the potential consequences of uncertain events or adversary’s action on critical supplies in the Alliance.

We leverage a parsimonious supply chain model and investigate the relationship between upstream supplier concentration/diversification and the supply chain’s robustness (survival probability) in the presence of uncertain systemic shocks. In several scenarios of shock events, we simulate alternative input sourcing strategies in the presence of uncertainty.

A firm-level cost-focused optimisation may lead all upstream suppliers to concentrate in one location, which – when subsequently hit by a shock – would result in a disruption of the entire supply chain. A chain-level forward-looking optimisation diversifies the upstream supplier location and sourcing decisions. As a result, the supply chain’s survival probability is maximised, and critical supplies will continue even under the most demanding circumstances.

Our findings encourage political and military decision makers to enhance upstream supply chain robustness in critical and strategic sectors, such as the diversification of nitrocellulose supplies currently sourced almost exclusively from China by European gunpowder manufacturers.

Our findings have direct recommendations to supply chain downstream decision makers and to the government’s policy choices. Since global supply chain (GSC) disruptions in critical sectors may have catastrophic impacts on social welfare and the probability of shocks such as COVID-19 and Russia’s war may not be known even approximately, robust decision rules seem to be the appropriate tools for policymaking in critical and strategic sectors such as energy supplies, food and water, communication and defence. A robust supply chain is one in which the survival probability is maximised, which we show in a central planner strategy’s simulations.

The paper shows formally why a market-based global input sourcing strategy may be efficient from an individual firm’s perspective but may be suboptimal from a societal resilience perspective.

A deteriorating security situation and an increased need for defence equipment calls for new forms of collaboration between Armed Forces and the defence industry. This paper aims to investigate the ways in which the accelerating demand for increased security of supply of equipment and supplies to the Armed Forces requires adaptability in the procurement process that is governed by laws on public procurement (PP).

This paper is based on a review of current literature as well as empirical data obtained through interviews with representatives from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and the Swedish defence industry.

Collaboration with the globalized defence industry requires new approaches, where the PP rules make procurement of a safe supply of defence equipment difficult.

The study's empirical data and findings are based on the Swedish context. In order to draw more general conclusions in a defence context, the study should be expanded to cover more nations.

The findings will enable the defence industry and the procurement authorizations to better understand the requirements of Armed Forces, and how to cooperate under applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

The paper extends the extant body of academic knowledge of the security of supply into the defence sector. It serves as a first step towards articulating a call for new approaches to collaboration in defence supply chains.

Each year, the US defense industry outsources nearly $400 bn of domestic goods and services through competitive bids. These procurement activities are quite often complex and specialized in nature because of a highly regulated federal acquisition contracting environment. Ongoing calls to improve supplier management and drive innovation in the defense industry offers an opportunity to adopt Early Supplier Integration (ESI) initiatives that have proven successful in the private sector. This paper identifies critical ESI activities and acquisition practices that the defense industry should adopt to ensure enhanced effectiveness in new product development.

Leveraging a conceptual ESI model derived from the research, an in-depth case study of 12 product development projects from a major defense contractor was performed. In the context of project performance, critical ESI activities and moderating effects were assessed.

Three key ESI activities have the greatest impact on aggregate project performance: system design involvement, design adjustment opportunities and design for manufacturability/assembly/testability involvement. Use of formal supplier agreements also significantly impacts project performance during the development phase. In addition, project complexity and product team maturity were identified as environment moderators; higher complexity projects tended to negatively moderate the impact of ESI upon performance, and higher team maturity levels tended to positively moderate the impact of ESI upon performance.

The results provide a sound framework for empirical validation through future quantitative studies and defense industry analyses. In addition, insights and recommendations for interpretation and adaptation of federal acquisition regulations to allow increased utilization of ESI within the defense industry are substantiated.

The military of today depends on the availability and readiness of high-technology weapon systems. As the military often has to focus on core tasks (the usage of systems), logistics and support tasks are outsourced to industry, which means that industrial suppliers gain importance for making weapon systems available and mission ready. However, companies are profit-maximizing and invest their best resources in the most promising business areas, which might be clients other than the (domestic) military customer. This raises the question of how the military can ensure that the defense industry provides the best performance: preferential treatment for the military. The purpose of this study is to investigate preferential treatment in the specific context of defense.

This paper reports on the examination of factors influencing preferential treatment for the military. The analysis uses structural equation modeling and data from a sample of German defense suppliers.

The results show that the perceived customer attractiveness has a strong effect on preferential customer treatment. Attractiveness is influenced by trust, commitment and a comparison with other customers.

There are several implications for defense theory and practice, including the need for further consideration of relational in contrast to transactional practices in military–industrial supply collaboration, as these seem highly relevant for getting the best resources for producing and maintaining weapon systems. In addition, increasing customer attractiveness, in particular if the military lacks a domestic defense industry base, is proposed.

The findings are based on a focus sample of only defense suppliers. This paper transfers the industrial discussion about the buyer–supplier relationships and preferential customer treatment to the defense logistics research context.

The purpose of this research is to explore the effects of supplier selection method on key procurement outcomes such as procurement lead time (PLT), supplier performance and buyer team size.

Data were collected from a sample of 124 archival contract records from the US Department of Defense. A multiple regression model and multivariate analysis of covariance/analysis of covariance models were used to test the effects of source selection method on pertinent procurement outcomes.

The trade-off (TO) source selection method increases PLT, as does the number of evaluation factors and the number of proposals received. Substantially larger sourcing teams are also associated with the TO source selection method. Nonetheless, the TO method results in better supplier performance.

TO source selections yield superior supplier performance than low-bidder methods. However, they are costly in terms of time and personnel. Any assessment of supplier value should consider not only the price premium for higher performance but also the transaction costs associated with the TO method.

Very little research addresses a buying team’s evaluation of supplier-offered value ex ante and whether that value assessment materializes into actual value-added supplier performance. Low bidder tactics are pervasive, but price (i.e. sacrifice) is only one component of value. Benefits from superior supplier performance may yield greater overall value. If value is critical to the buyer, a TO source selection method – versus a low-bidder approach – is the appropriate tool because of higher supplier performance ex post.

This study examines the results of a program intended to act as a selection tool for mass merchandisers and a development tool for small manufacturers. The evaluation program assessed the management practices and products of potential suppliers. Based on past experience, buyers for mass merchandisers consider small manufacturing enterprises a poor risk as potential suppliers of retail goods. As part of the evaluation process, firms were asked 34 closed-end questions regarding their management practices, and each product was evaluated on 41 specific qualities necessary for the mass merchandising market. Of the 1,690 firms that participated in this project, about 5 percent had their products accepted by a national mass merchandiser. A review of the evaluation data reveals that firms needed high performance in both areas of evaluation to be successful in the marketplace, not just a strong firm or a marketable product. However, each of these areas separately had a statistically significant effect on the success of the product in gaining a retail buyer’s attention.

There is strong consensus that the Internet has the potential to positively impact firms, and SMEs in particular; however, not all firms have realized benefits from adoption. The present study extends research in the area by addressing the need to examine the “chain” of variables explaining Internet adoption. We do this by exploring SME owner/manager Internet-related usefulness and ease-of-use cognitions and intention to use the Internet for supplier information management. We also explore the influence of behavioral norms and two broader strategic perspectives, market and learning orientation, on the Internet-related cognitions. Findings have implications for researchers and practitioners by identifying factors that contribute to effectively leveraging the Internet in an important area for SMEs.

Contradictory sustainability priorities and perspectives among supply chain actors in greening transportation can be challenging. Several of these contradictions can be described as paradoxes (i.e. interests that are logical in themselves, but become irrational when perceived together). The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of paradoxical tensions hampering the greening of transportation in transport buyer–supplier dyads.

A case study method targeting greening transportation in two transport buyer–supplier dyads was applied, followed by an analysis with a point-of-departure in paradox theory.

Tensions related to performing, belonging, learning and organizing paradoxes in greening transportation were identified. These tensions arise as a consequence of actions, perspectives and other tensions, within three identified loci in individual companies and in dyads.

By identifying examples of tensions through the lens of paradoxes in a particular setting, this study provides an increased understanding of why the transition toward green transportation goes slow, despite the high ambitions of involved actors. The suggested framework provides a novel contribution to the literature that further increases the understanding of tensions, by providing additional insights into where tensions arise and how actions, perspectives and tensions in one place of a locus spectrum can disseminate along that spectrum.

This study is original because it applies paradox theory and the four categories of performing, belonging, learning and organizing within the field of greening transportation, and in particular as a lens to study interactions between different actors.

This paper aims to explore the role of heuristics in the reassessment of relationship events and how it influences perceptions of commitment, fairness and relationship value. It answers the question of how heuristics interrelate with decision-makers’ evolving interpretations of commitment, fairness and relationship value in a specific buyer-supplier relationship.

This paper presents data from a longitudinal study of an evolving buyer–supplier relationship involving a multinational supplier of fast-moving consumer goods and a medium-sized and highly specialized supplier. It analyzes qualitative data about the use of heuristics in buyer–supplier relationships, and it is based on evidence collected from interviews, presentations, meetings and secondary data.

This paper shows that a buyer’s unexpected behavior can lead to a reassessment of commitment, fairness and relationship value. Heuristics can delay relationship reassessments, however. The case shows that heuristics have a preserving quality and that the effect of transformative events only slowly changes the perception of the value of the relationship. In this change process, the link between commitment, perceived fairness and heuristics is crucial.

This paper contributes to research on the relationship between buyer–supplier relationships and heuristics. In particular, the paper contributes to the understanding of how relational events in a buyer-supplier relationship change the commitment and perception of fairness, and how heuristics change accordingly. On a more overarching level, the study contributes to our understanding of business relationship dynamics.

This paper aims to explore factors influencing suppliers' acceptance, integration challenges, expected benefits and support from customers when implementing a customer-introduced digital supply chain system.

The study investigates the perspective of suppliers using a mixed methodology approach that combines qualitative interviews with a large-scale quantitative survey conducted among 220 internationally located suppliers of an automotive-industrial firm.

As a result, the authors identified 11 factors that drive suppliers' acceptance of customer-introduced digital supply chain systems. These factors have been ranked based on their importance. The top three important factors identified were the digital system being provided at no cost to the suppliers, the system's ability to save time and the system offering benefits to the suppliers.

Further research can be conducted to validate the perspective of suppliers in other industries. Additionally, future studies can investigate the effectiveness of fulfilling these acceptance factors within an actual digital integration setup.

Companies can leverage these insights to accelerate their digital supply chain integration efforts. The insights on acceptance factors, challenges, benefits and support expected by suppliers can serve as a valuable guide for policy and decision makers within the industry.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to investigate the perspective of suppliers in the integration of a customer's digital supply chain. By including the supplier's perspective, this study makes a significant contribution to the academic literature about supply chain digitalisation.