Georgia Tech study shows broken links imperil supply chains

Georgia Tech study shows broken links imperil supply chains    Companies that suffer unexpected blockages in their flow of products to consumers face a long road to recovery, according to a new study by Vinod Singhal, professor of operations management at the Georgia Tech College of Management in Atlanta.
   'Disruptions in the supply chain devastate corporate performance,' Singhal said in a statement. The problem is growing worse because of an increasing reliance on overseas suppliers for components, he added.
   Singhal cited Motorola, Sony, Boeing, Hershey, Nike and Cisco, among large companies, as being hurt by supply chain disruptions in recent years.
   Yet smaller businesses are especially vulnerable to the consequences of such disruptions 'because they're focused on fewer products and wield less clout with supply-chain partners,' he said.
   Singhal also cited related studies of supply chain failure conducted in collaboration with Kevin Hendricks, associate professor of operations management at the University of Western Ontario.
   The Georgia Tech report is titled 'An Empirical Analysis of the Effect of Supply-Chain Disruptions on Long-Run Stock Price Performance and Risk of the Firm.' For more information, contact Singhal at (404) 894-4908 or vinod.singhal@mgt.gatech.edu.