Supply Chain Stability and Sustainability: Analysis and Solutions

This report discusses the potential challenges in achieving a sustainable and stable supply chain, focusing on long-term development and drawing strategies from the article "Going green is not that easy for electric vehicles." It emphasizes the importance of considering processing costs, energy consumption, and market-related parameters like customer preferences and government policies. The report highlights the need for flexibility, recycling, and addressing economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Key areas include managing the costs of raw materials, transportation, and production, as well as mapping and mitigating risks associated with the supply chain. Internal alignment within firms and compliance with global compacts are also crucial for maintaining a stable and sustainable supply chain. Ultimately, the report advocates for innovation, waste reduction, and environmentally friendly practices, such as the adoption of electric vehicles, to ensure sustainability and stability.

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
Introduction
Supply chain refers to the network built between firms and their suppliers with the aim of
producing and distributing certain products to the final consumers/buyers. The supply chain
networks are made up of different activities, individuals, systems and resources. It is the duty of
the individual firms to develop their specific supply chain and be in a position of handling all the
risk that may be manifested in the course of operation.
The supply chain may be made up of a series of steps that enables the firm to get the product or
services to the customers. This may involve the transformation of raw materials into finished
product and carrying out logistics. Several risks may arise when trying to manage the supply
chain. This paper is going to major on discussing the potential challenges that should be
considered in order to achieve a sustainable and stable supply chain and give possible
recommendations. The report is going to focus its strategies based on the article “Going green is
not that easy for electric vehicle”. The focus is to put emphasis on long-term development of
sustainable supply chain in the industry.
Literature review
Potential challenges to be considered to ensure sustainability of the supply chain
The processing cost
For sustainability and going green, companies ought to change their way of operations and opt
for more environmentally friendly products. Companies should consider incorporating the close
end-recycling project in their supply chain in order to reduce the effect if global warming.
Recycling used products such as Lithium Batteries in the automotive industry is one of the major
way of cutting down the usage of natural resources since the recycled products are of the same

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
standards as the manufactured ones. If companies have the option recycling used products, there
is apparently no reason for them to manufacture new products instead; they should opt for the
latter. Energy consumption by firms, individuals and industries can be reduced through
recycling of products and building constituent deports to reduce the distance travelled in th
transportation of raw materials and cost.
Consequently, the government has the task of ensuring that business/ individuals are only
involved in activities that are less harmful to the environment. Wastage of time is part of
potential challenges that can Couse a firm to have an unstable supply chain. Proper time
management includes on time delivery of products and cutting down the usage of technologies
that consume allot of power and time such as use of petrol and diesel engines
The cost of processing goods for instance LIB in the automotive industry and use of electric
vehicles can be a potential challenge that must be considered for sustainability of the supply
chain to be realized. The current processing cost may increase when the design of products such
as LIB becomes complex and sophisticated. Technological development may be the solution of
reducing the cost of production. According to Gouda & Saranga (2018), they denote that for
sustainability to be realized in the activity of the firm, it is rudimentary for the supply chain to be
flexible unlike the classical supply chain. This implies coping up with the developing
technology. Sustainability should be influenced by the ability of the supply chain to reverse itself
and still function properly; the ability to remanufacture or recycle used products such as LIB.
This includes recycling used parts as in the case of automotive industry. There are a number of
potential challenges that may arise in the supply chain management and should be addressed
appropriately in order realize a stable supply chain. When the issue of stable and sustainable
supply chain is brought up, three key areas ought to be taken into account namely the economic

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
dimension, environmental dimension and the social dimension. A stable supply chain should
consider all the three areas. To begin with, supply chain can be divided into two major parts, the
reverse part and the forward part. Many industries for instance the automotive industries operate
within the forward supply chain where they get their raw materials from different suppliers or
they can use materials that have been recycled as long as they meet the required standards
(Valinejad & Rahmani 2018, p.58).
The figure below shows a sample of the automotive supply chain
According to Burnson (2017), the cost of processing and production of safety and quality
products is one of the areas that hold potential risks in the supply chain. With the increasing
problem of global warming and difficulty in accessing sufficient raw materials by industries, it
becomes very challenging for the manufacturers to produce safe and high quality product that are
environmental friendly. As in the case of automotive industry, the use of petroleum-based
engines has proved beyond doubt as one of the leading courses of global warming. With respect
to the impending danger that may be brought by the fumes emitted by the locomotive engines,
automotive industries have now been forced to restructure their supply chain and opt for more

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
effective and environmental friendly engines such as the use of hybrid vehicles or electric
vehicles. With the invention of electric vehicles, which is a key technology in the automotive
industry, it is aimed at revolutionizing the supply chain and of the automotive industry thus
contributing to sustainable development (Gouda & Saranga 2018, pp.5820).
Market related parameters
To turn green and reduce waste on the environment, companies need to focus on products that
can decompose can be reused after recycling has been done. The usage of products that are
renewable is the key to sustainability Fadwa &Jing Zhao (2018), Changes in the market can
highly affect the stability of the supply chain and this need to be considered in order to develop a
sustainable supply chain. Such changes that may come into play are issues to do with fashion test
and preferences of the customers, government policies as in the case of LIB used in electric
vehicles. Price of product may go high with increased efficiency of products. These are an area
of potential challenge that must be considered when trying to developing a sustainable supply
chain. The most sensitive part in the market related issue is the profit and firms should ensure
that they are not affected by these issues.
Borella, Barcellos & Zin (2018), asserts that For a company to boast of running a sustainable
supply chain the firm must have a clear knowledge of the economic influence of their vendor and
clients is becoming common to all industries. Going green and becoming environmentally
friendly is not the only key to run a stable supply chain but it is also necessary to be stable in the
social sphere. Firms need to look entirely into their manufacturing process that is to do with the
location where the raw materials are obtained and the possibility of recycling their products or
services. This calls for the firms to evaluate their supply chain process inch by inch.

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
In the process of attaining a sustainable supply chain, a firm should start by assessing where they
obtain their raw material. This may include asking yourself questions such who are your
suppliers. For instance in the automotive industry, the raw materials used are normally supplied
by different suppliers. One needs to find out whether the products come from legal sources or
not. One of the factors that can course firms grow slowly is their performance in sustainability.
Production and dissemination of goods and services highly depends on affordable and reliable
energy supplies and natural resources (Kannegiesser, Gunther &Autenrieb 2015, p. 229),. In
addition to the go-ahead tick from clients, investors and regulators to carry on with business
activities (Mani & Gunasekaran 2018, p.150).
Considering the issue to do with going green and becoming environmentally friendly as in the
case of automotive industry, firms need to cut their emission of carbon gas in the air this has
facilitated the key technology in the automotive industry to turn to the use of electric or hybrid
vehicles. This involves lowering the carbon intensity. This calls for reduction in the utilization of
the natural and social costs of products at the same time capitalizing on the rising demand of
consumers without causing strain on the environment and welfare of human beings. To this end,
this calls for great deal of innovation and invention thus allowing products such as hybrid
vehicles to be made using less energy and recycling of materials (Touboulic, Chicksand &
Walker 2014, p. 578).
Notably, companies that produce consumer goods such automotive industries have greater social
and environmental costs that surpass their operations. The company should identify the business
case, which involves a number of issues such as the business sector, the footprint of the supply
chain, expectations of the stakeholders in addition to strategy of the business and business
culture (Morais & Silvestre 2018, pp.235).

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
The figure below shows the various business drivers that ensure sustainability in the supply
chain.
Firms can shield themselves from potential supply chain risks and interruptions or delays that
may be associated with suppliers, environmental and economic governance by making sure those
suppliers comply effectively with robust systems of management that cover all areas of the
global compact.
related costs of the raw material?
Based on the article ‘the role of electric vehicles for supply chain sustainability in the
Automotive industry’, the economical dimension should be considered when determining the
stability of the supply chain is it relatively cheap to use recycled materials or expensive. What
can be done to reduce the consumption of natural energy? Companies need to consider the
possibility of using other friendly sources of energy such as electric vehicles. Considering
whether the total emission of CO2 in the make-up process and utilization of the product can lead
towards sustainability and their overall impact on cost. What is the impact of purchasing raw

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
material and transporting it to the industry? Both the cost of purchasing raw materials and their
transportation cost can significantly affect the stability of the supply chain and profitability of the
firm. Determine the possible anomalies that may arise because of introducing code demand
(Ansari & Kant 2017, pp. 888).
Considering the issue of mapping the risks associated with the supply chain, two major steps
may be undertaken in the supply chain.
Monroe (2017), suggests that Identification of the Risk event, which involves issues to do with
delayed payment of stock of competence. Such issues are potential risks to the supply chain both.
It is also important to determine the possible risk that may arise externally and internally and
affect the stability and sustainability of the supply chain. This potential risks include continuation
of the business, regulatory and reputation of the organization, acceptance of the market and risk
requirements of the customers. Consequently, sustainability can only be achieved by the firm
through assessment of the likelihood and severity of risk events. The analysis of risk events helps
the firm to understand the potential impacts. This step allows the company to be in a position of
managing the risks that may arise here. This can be modelled through plotting risk events on the
grid as shown below by fig 1.3

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
Other factors that may affect or influence the stability and sustainability of the supply chain are
facts such as internal alignment of the firm. The presence of unresolved tension in most firms
between supply managers or experts and their adherence to Global compact can be manifested in
a number of areas within the stocks of competence who manage the supply chain. When the firm
lacks internal alignment, many risks and negative impacts may occur on the supplier’s supply
chain and affect the performance of sustainability and stability of supply chain (Goyal, Routroy
& Shah 2018,p. 522).
According to Ansari & Qureshi (2015), the implementation of a sustainable supply chain can be
achieved if the company deals with the basic levels of internal responsibilities. The three basic
elements are the executive leadership who are responsible for oversight, support and ensuring
commitment of players in the chain process, the supply management professionals whose work is
to ensure the implementation of the agreed strategies and the business managers who carry the
task of ensuring cross-functional coordination of all the events of the firm.
According to Gaur & Mani (2018), the ability to communicate your firms’ expectations is a key
to sustainability. When you maintain your focus on sustainability in your supply chain, it

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
becomes a great way of communicating corporate virtues and culture to the suppliers and clients.
Firms should strive and find suitable techniques of passing their expectations to the suppliers’
code of conduct, as it is a basic step in ensuring that the suppliers observe sustainability.
Companies can integrate the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEM) to help them
set priorities concerning the values of the firm. This intern may create the opportunity for firms
to improve the sustainability of the supply chain (Bouddou 2018,p.3).
Giannakis & Papadopoulos (2016), the most important factor that enhances sustainability of the
supply chain is the development of training opportunities and building programs. It is the best
strategy of instigating the change in behavior in the supply chain. The company can rely on both
internal and external resources to create room for training ad further training. The best way of
transferring knowledge within across the supply chain is to promote the best practices and
examples obtained from the top performing suppliers. When the success of the best suppliers is
showcased, firms obtain the capacity of realizing their efforts and illustrate the practical benefits
of initiatives of sustainability (Ni & Sun 2018, p.153).
Recommendations to companies that want to develop a stable and sustainable supply chain
For sustainability and going green, companies ought to change their way of operations and opt
for more environmentally friendly products. Companies should consider incorporating the close
end-recycling project in their supply chain in order to reduce the effect if global warming.
Recycling used products such as Lithium Batteries in the automotive industry is one of the major
way of cutting down the usage of natural resources since the recycled products are of the same
standards as the manufactured ones. If companies have the option recycling used products, there

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Stability and Sustainability of Supply Chain
is apparently no reason for them to manufacture new products instead; they should opt for the
latter.
Consequently, the government has the task of ensuring that business/ individuals are only
involved in activities that are less harmful to the environment. Wastage of time is part of
potential challenges that can Couse a firm to have an unstable supply chain. Proper time
management includes on time delivery of products and cutting down the usage of technologies
that consume allot of power and and time such as use of petrol and diesel engines
With the ongoing trends in the contemporary world that include the increasing demand of
consumer products and greenhouse effect such as global warming, companies need to come up
with both stable and sustainable supply chain. The following recommendations can be used by
the firms to see them achieve sustainability.
Companies should prioritize the identification of critical issues and areas that need to be
improved within their entire supply chain. This involves a systematic measure in examining the
manufacturing process of the firm. Companies should focus on moving towards zero emission of
carbon (iv) oxide in the atmosphere through the introduction of electrified vehicles for example
the pure electrified vehicle or hybrid vehicles that are powered by renewable batteries. These
batteries or other environmental friendly are aimed at facilitating the development of green
sustainable supply chain. Firms should not only consider the environmental impacts of the
supply chain but should also consider both economic and social impacts in their production
process. The influence of the supply chain to the environment, social welfare and economic
impacts of the supply chain is a culmination of each step in the manufacturing and logistic

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process. Therefore, firms should consider understanding areas where most emissions and risks
arise from or are located to carry out the necessary improvement.
Additionally for firms to go green especially the automotive industries, other environmentally
friendly methods that can be deployed include the use of shortcut roots that will reduce the
amount of fumes emitted by vehicles in the process of transportation. In addition to this, it is
recommendable for firms to deploy the use of reversible supply chain to help cut the usage of
energy and natural resources. Recycling used materials such as batteries LIP help cut the
utilization of energy thus saving most part of the natural resources. This has to do with reverse
logistics and closed supply chain. Companies ought to consider impacts of their waste materials
on the environment. To manage their waste products, it is necessary for the companies to reuse
their product or use materials that are environmentally friendly.
Consequently, to achieve stability and sustainability in the supply chain, we recommend that
firms should deploy the utilization of supply chain management and measurement tools that can
aid in tracking the progress of the firms activities thus help detect areas of weaknesses in the
chain. All firms should try to follow the guidelines in addition to the key performance indicators
that have been provided by organizations such as World Wildlife Fund and The sustainability
Consortium. These guidelines can help consumer firms and organizations to move towards their
economic, social welfare goals.
Additionally, green sustainability of supply chain of firms can be achieved through proper time
management. Proper time management can be viewed in terms of time spent by automotive
products on freight. To help cub this challenge firms should consider using electric vehicles,