Supply chain risk management: the lessons learned from the Egyptian revolution 2011

This research investigates the impact of the Egyptian revolution on the supply chain (SC) of a number of companies in different business sectors for the purpose of evaluating the degree of their preparedness to SC risk. The study focuses on the three main components to a SC risk programme: (1) the ability to forecast/discover potential disruptions, (2) the ability to recover from the disruption, and (3) SC design strategies for resilience. The research is exploratory and descriptive in nature using semi-structured interviews for data collection. The sample of companies targeted in this study is of a purposive nature as the study focuses on a number of companies belonging to the manufacturing, retailing, and the transport and logistics sectors due to the direct impact they have on customers especially during turbulent economic and political situations. The main finding of this study is that supply chain risk management (SCRM) awareness is still poor in Egypt. Egyptian companies are strongly recommended to adapt SCRM by improving collaboration between the different departments/functions to analyse risks and to set the appropriate plans; and to fully understand their role as a vital link in the SCs of other companies.