Study of Emerging Issues in Supply Risk Management in India

India is becoming a global manufacturing hub. Increasing demand in domestic and international markets is opening a new world of opportunities for the Indian Industry. Increasing competition, due to globalisation is making inevitable for the Indian industries to provide cost effective quality output with stringent delivery schedules. Issues in supply of inferior quality, delayed supply, unwarranted cost escalation, etc. would adversely impact the credibility and business potential of the Indian industry. Amongst many difficulties faced by Indian manufacturers, supply chain disruption management is a major issue, which can result in large tangible and non-tangible losses. This paper aims at exploring major reasons for supply disruptions and the challenges faced by the Indian manufacturers. The identified challenges and issues are the outcome of a survey conducted from more than one hundred Indian firms. The companies from various business verticals include automobile manufacturers, machinery, service, FMCG/retail, chemicals, etc. This survey suggests the intensity and impact of various attributes governing supply disruptions. In this work, we present the findings of the survey conducted and also demonstrate that the supply disruption is not due to factual issues but surprisingly, due to many social or cultural issues. We also suggest some remedial actions to minimise (if not overcome) the supply disruption. We hope that this work will be of use especially to the Indian industries that are in search of excelling in their business vertical.