Supply chain resilience: a case study of small-medium wholesale company in Saudi Arabia

Amir, Adibah and Bashanfar, Mohammed Khaled (2024) Supply chain resilience: a case study of small-medium wholesale company in Saudi Arabia. In: 6th International Conference on Advances in Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, ICAMME 2022, 13-14 August 2024, Kuala Lumpur.

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Abstract

This case study investigates the resilience and flexibility of supply chain mechanisms in a small to medium sized wholesale business (SME) based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It focuses on the company’s ability to handle and recover from disruptions in supply chain management. A critical issue is the impact on the SME’s resilience due to inadequate performance evaluation, particularly since the business heavily relies on the lucrative seasonal peaks of Ramadhan and Hajj for its trading operations in Jeddah. The business was severely affected by geopolitical tension arising from Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Using root cause analysis, potential causes of these disruptions were examined and validated, revealing four main contributing factors; underlying, immediate, direct and indirect causes. It was found that underlying issues like poor communications with suppliers could be improved by fostering harmonious supplier-manufacturer relationships. The identified immediate cause of value-added government tax can be managed through proactive tax management strategies such as investment decisions and capital restructuring. A direct cause, a significant increase of USD 3500 in shipping costs for the traditional route from China to Jeddah between September 2023 and January 2024, can be mitigated by practising cost-sharing shipment arrangements. A significant indirect cause was the USD 100,000 sales loss in February 2024 due to missing lucrative sales during seasonal peaks, which can be minimised through efficient forecasting strategies and inventory management. Ultimately, this study provides valuable insights for SMEs aiming to enhance their supply chain resilience amidst global economic challenges.

Item Type:	Proceeding Paper (Plenary Papers)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Geopolitical tension · Saudi Arabia · SME wholesale · Supply chain
Subjects:	T Technology > T Technology (General) > T55.4 Industrial engineering.Management engineering. > T58.7 Production capacity. Manufacturing capacity
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Engineering > Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering
Depositing User:	Adibah Amir
Date Deposited:	29 Dec 2025 09:54
Last Modified:	29 Dec 2025 09:54
Queue Number:	2025-12-Q1028
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/125995

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