Impact of disruptions in agri-food supply chain due to COVID-19 pandemic : contextualised resilience framework to achieve operational excellence

Purpose: The present study aims to assess the role of supply chain resilience as an operational excellence approach to deal with disruptions caused by coronavirus pandemic in the food supply chain of an agri-food supply firm. Design/methodology/approach: The case study method was used to analyse the disruptions faced by the agricultural food supply chain during the pandemic. The study applies a dynamic capability theory as a foundation to develop a contextualised resilience framework for agri-food supply chain to achieve operational excellence. The case has been analysed by using situation-actor-process (SAP) and learning-action-performance (LAP) framework. Findings: The SAP aspect of framework points that the flexibility amongst actors for a resilient agriculture supply chain worsened due to the lockdown measures post COVID-19. The LAP aspect of framework suggests how resilience can be built at the supply, demand and logistics end through various proactive and reactive practices such as collaboration, coordination, ICT and ground-level inputs. Lack of commitment and inadequate support from top management towards supply chain resilience are also observed as significant challenges to maintain operational excellence during the pandemic. Research limitations/implications: One of the major implications of the study is that a mix of capabilities rather than a single capability can be the most appropriate way for making the supply chain resilient to maintain operational excellence during the pandemic. However, the sources of disruptions need to be duly recognised to derive the best-contextualised resilience framework for agri-food supply chains. Originality/value: The development of a contextualised research framework as well as research propositions for analysing supply chain resilience are the major contribution of this study.