Therefore, this dissertation aims to investigate the impact of the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic on the supply chain in the engineering manufacturing sector, and the subsequent impact on effective process performance, particularly cycle times, production flexibility and cost efficiency. Keywords: Supply chain; supply chain disruption; The covid-19 pandemic; engineering production; risk assessment; risk management; analysis; exploratory factor analysis;
Research Background
Thus, the main purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on supply chain disruption in the engineering manufacturing sector at an industry level. Other researchers have assessed the impact caused on the manufacturing industry by critically evaluating it from the perspective of supply chain risk and resilience (Linton & Vakil 2020; Rapaccini et al. 2020).
Research Significance
Nevertheless, this project examines the impact of the pandemic on a broader scale, focusing on the machinery manufacturing sector. However, current research still lacks adequate research on the impact of the pandemic on the wider engineering manufacturing industry, particularly on aspects such as supply chain communication, raw material shortages, cycle times, cost efficiency and manufacturing flexibility, indicating a research gap explored by current study.
Research Problem Statement
Research Questions
Are the current supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including raw material shortages, having a significant impact on the effective management process performance (cycle times, production flexibility and cost efficiency) in the engineering manufacturing sector. Does communication throughout the supply chain have a significant impact on the effective management process performance aimed at addressing the issues caused by supply disruptions (such as cycle times, production flexibility and cost efficiency) in the engineering manufacturing industry during the coronavirus pandemic.
Research Aims and Objectives
To help management in manufacturing engineering firms make evidence-based decisions when addressing or mitigating supply chain disruptions during disasters/pandemics. Recommend ways to improve or manage process effectiveness (cycle times, production flexibility and cost efficiency) during disasters/pandemics taking into account various factors such as communication throughout the supply chain and mitigating raw material shortages .
Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses
Conceptual Framework
Research Hypotheses
Organization of the Dissertation
Supply Chain Disruption Definition
Accordingly, studying these interdependencies and risks and how they affect supply chain disruptions and affect organizational/industry performance is a major topic of interest to today's supply chain managers. Although elevated levels of supply chain risk can pose significant challenges, studies have shown that companies that adopt higher levels of flexibility have a better ability to manage unforeseen events that cause major supply chain disruptions, such as global pandemics, more successfully than their non- adaptive competitors.
Supply Chain Pandemic Disruptions
In short, COVID-19 continues to strain the globalized supply chain for manufacturers and other industries in a highly complex and intertwined manner. The current literature on supply chain disruption and forecasting provides insight into how these complexities arise.
Engineering Manufacturing Sector Challenges
Supply Chain Management Barriers
According to Biswas and Das (2020), SCM barriers can vary widely from one company to another and can include aspects such as unclear organizational goals or objectives, insufficient support and commitment from top management, mistrust and lack of collaboration among key stakeholders ( especially supply chain partners and employees), poor capacity development (training and education opportunities) for the suppliers and employees, poor feedback and customer response mechanisms, poor integration between the company and supply chain partners, and poor communication/information technology infrastructure . Biswas and Das (2020) study the impact of COVID-19 on the escalation of supply chain barriers within the Indian manufacturing sector, a major manufacturing hub in the Asian region. These impacts on the tech manufacturing supply chain vary in severity between different companies, with the.
Engineering Manufacturing Supply Chain Risk Management
Supply chain risks have been extensively researched over the past two decades, with a key focus on how hazards expose SC management in the context of a pandemic. For example, a study by Sharma et al. 2020) showed that manufacturing companies can mitigate the impact of the pandemic on supply chain disruptions by adopting policies that take advantage of reduced supply chain inventories. These studies provide a wide range of information on how engineering manufacturing companies can effectively manage their wide range of supply chain risks during the COVID-19 outbreak, but there is still a gap in how likely and serious aspects such as cost efficiency, manufacturing flexibility, and cycle times are affected by the pandemic.
Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Supply Chain Risk Mitigation
The adoption of technologies, such as AM, was escalated by the pandemic situation to ensure that firms remained afloat and in production. Technology adoption can greatly improve production efficiency and reduce supply chain disruptions, thereby improving key aspects of production such as production flexibility, cycle time and cost efficiency. Technologies, such as additive manufacturing, have proven effective from a multidisciplinary perspective that goes beyond engineering manufacturing.
Research Paradigm
Therefore, managing the emergency supply chain should incorporate role definition, model establishment and overall chain coordination efforts, especially tailored for special occasions such as the recent pandemic. With the COVID-19 pandemic presenting unexpected situations in the distribution of inputs and finished products, thereby significantly affecting supply chain management from a social and economic perspective, it is critical for investigators to adopt research philosophies that address these current problems so that companies can develop resilience. measures for their respective supply chains. Accordingly, this study applies the constructivist research paradigm to develop epistemological ideas about how the research variables are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions and how such variables affect or correlate with each other in an organization's supply chain.
Research Techniques
However, this approach was not possible due to the current social distancing restrictions under the COVID-19 regulations. The research method used in this study in accordance with the constructivist approach is a case study. In the current study, this challenge was overcome by first assessing the most suitable candidates to be included as study participants, with one of the most important qualifying aspects being "those who have worked in the firm for three years or more". The approach eliminated the need to ascertain that all participants could actually understand and answer the various key factors/questions related to the study variables.
Research Data Collection
The questionnaire was further divided into three primary sections (for each of the primary variables - cycle times, production flexibility and cost efficiency), with each participant assessing the likelihood and severity of each variable being impacted by different aspects of the supply chain disruption on a scale from Likert 1-5. The supply chain disruptions that were examined included decreases and increases in demand fluctuations, storage and access restrictions, staff shortages, component/raw material shortages, alternative suppliers, supply chain automation, supply chain communication and stakeholder engagement /third parties. The questions asked were structured to examine how management in tech manufacturing companies make evidence-based decisions when addressing or mitigating supply chain disruptions during pandemics, and to recommend ways to improve or improve process effectiveness (cycle times, production flexibility, and cost efficiency). manage. during disasters/pandemics taking into account various factors such as communication throughout the supply chain and mitigating raw material shortages.
Research Population and Sampling
Research Analysis Tools
Research Ethical Considerations
The analysis and results/findings section will include the various analytical methods used on the data collected after performing the cleanliness and reliability tests. Primary analyzes performed include exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (integrating KMO and Cronbach Alpha tests) and correlations. IBM SPSS v.23 (SPSS - Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) was used for analyses, i.e., descriptive, EFA and correlations.
Descriptive Statistics
The average job length was 3.23, meaning that a significant percentage of the participants had worked at the firm for five to seven years. The median indicates the value that occurs right in the middle of the data set when the values/entries are ordered from low to high. Mode indicates the most commonly occurring value in a sample or data set, meaning that most of the participants were represented by this value.
Exploratory Factor Analysis: Results and Discussion
Exploratory Factor Analysis Results/Analysis
PRODUCTIONFLEX7LIK] How likely production flexibility is affected by shortages of raw materials/components (critical materials/components). PRODUCTIONFLEX8SEV] How severely production flexibility is affected by shortages of raw materials/components (critical materials/components). COSTEFFICIENCY7LIK] How likely cost efficiency has been affected by shortages of raw materials/components (critical materials/components).
Discussion of Exploratory Factor Analysis Results
- Step 1: Assessing the Dataset
- Step 2: Extracting the Latent Factors
- Step 3: Establishing the Number of Factors
- Step 4: Factor Rotation
- Step 5: Factor Interpretation
- Measurement of Variables
How likely and severely production flexibility is affected by shortages of raw materials/components (critical materials/components). For the cost efficiency variable, three questions were used to develop the summarized variables, including COSTEFFICIENCY7LIK8SEV: How likely and severely cost efficiency is affected by shortages of raw materials/components (critical materials/components). COST-EFFECTIVENESS15LIK16SEV: How likely and severely cost-effectiveness is affected by third-party/stakeholder involvement.
Correlation Analysis and Discussion
- Elaborating the Correlation Results
PRODUCTIONFL EX5LIK6SEV] How likely and serious labor shortages affect production flexibility. PRODUCTIONFL EX7LIK8SEV] How likely and seriously the flexibility of production is affected by raw material/. COSTEFFICI ENCY7LIK8SE V] How likely and strongly the cost effectiveness is affected by the raw material/.
Research Results Comparison and Discussion
Therefore, for research question two, it is clear that communication can have a large (if not significant) impact on cycle times and production flexibility during the pandemic period for technical manufacturing organizations. Finally, based on the current literature and research results, it is clear that cost efficiency depends on cycle times and production flexibility. Based on the current literature and the research results, it is clear that cost efficiency depends on cycle times and production flexibility.
Research Limitations and Strengths
Also, poor communication in the supply chain causes a lack of proper planning to ensure production flexibility and efficient cycle times, causing unintentional increases in production costs (i.e. poor cost efficiency). For example, a flexible production line in the factory can have a major impact on cost efficiency. This provision can also be considered a strength of the study, as it relates to the first objective of this study: to help management of technical manufacturing companies make evidence-based decisions in addressing or mitigating supply chain disruptions during disasters/pandemics.
Recommendations and Future Research
Workforce and supply chain disruptions as an opportunity for digital and technological innovation for resilient manufacturing systems in the COVID-19 pandemic. A Selection of Supply Chain Management Impediments in Indian Manufacturing Sectors due to the Impacts of COVID-19. Strategies to Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19 on Supply Chain Disruptions: A Multi-Case Analysis of Buyers and Distributors.
