Supply chain risks in transportation and distribution in the Covid-19 Era: An Exploratory Study of Moroccan companies

ABSTRACT

Supply chains SC increasing complexity has made it more and more vulnerable to an array of disruptions and disturbances especially in an unstable and volatile environment. Transportation and distribution functions being an integral part of the supply chain and the last phase to touch the costumers, can be impacted high negatively by some risks. That's has been exposed by the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic which crippled the whole SC both globally and locally. This paper presents a case study based on a survey that addresses supply chains risks which are generated in both transportation and distribution systems of 50 Moroccan companies and the ones which are implemented in the Moroccan territory in the Covid-19 era. The study reveals some measures and strategies that companies have and can implement to withstand and cope with the risks caused by the health crisis disruptions such as the rising importance of integration, digitalization and the need to revisit the meaning of efficiency in transportation and distribution management. © 2022 IEEE.