A framework for managing unexpected events in server manufacturing environment

Unexpected events represent a daily challenge to organizations because they could cause disruptions and have potential negative impact on supply chain operations. In order to stay ahead of competitors and reduce long-term damage to their business, organizations have to respond and recover quickly to such unexpected events. Identifying and addressing unexpected events, the origins of risks, is a critical part of supply chain risk management. Risk exists in supply chains because of the uncertainty about unexpected events. This research develops a framework to identify, analyze, and respond to unexpected events as a source of supply chain risk in a server manufacturing environment. The objective is to reduce the effect of such events on server manufacturing supply chains. The framework includes five key steps: Identification and prediction, assessment and prioritization, characterization and analysis, prevention and response, and monitoring and control. Specific modeling and analysis tools are recommended for each step of the framework to provide an effective management of unexpected events. A case study was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework in dealing with unexpected events in a server manufacturing environment. The developed framework could be generalized to other similar industries.