Achieving Supply Chain Integration: Connecting the Supply Chain Inside and Out for Competitive Advantage

10. Raw Material Feast or Famine: Integrating Supply Networks to Overcome Resource Scarcity

By John E. Bell and Christopher W. Craighead¹

Have you ever tried to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without bread? Not an easy task! Even if you are “successful,” it gets kind of messy during the process. So, too, similar situations can arise when critical raw materials are scarce in the short or long term. These scarce resources can hinder and, in extreme cases, shut down firms and their supply chains and in doing so, be devastating to performance. Unfortunately, there is not a shortage (no pun intended) of examples of resource scarcity encounters.

One well-known supply event occurred in December 2003 when Nissan was caught off guard by a lack ...