Strategic Sourcing as an Enabler of Supply Chain Risk Management

The risk of supply chain disruptions and other forms of failures, such as sudden price shifts, has and continues to create challenges for firms managing their supply chains. Fortunately, we do not need to reinvent the wheel for managing risk and ensuring supply chain resilience. Many of the approaches and tools used in the strategic sourcing process can also be used to manage risk. This introductory chapter provides the basis and grounding for subsequently identifying various sources of risk, utilizing an array of analytic tools for assessing the significance of risk, and subsequently employing well-established approaches in the strategic sourcing process for managing risk and facilitating supply chain resilience.