A comprehensive systematic review of the literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense economic, social, and environmental impact on Supply Chains (SCs) worldwide. Despite the importance of the impact of the pandemic on SCs, very little research has been conducted on a comprehensive systematic literature review on the COVID-19 pandemic and SCs. This study presents this comprehensive analysis and includes a summary and classification of 393 papers published between 2019 and 2022. We show four broad themes in the literature: (1) the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on SCs, (2) SC resilience strategies for managing impacts, (3) SC sustainability issues, and (4) SC disruptions and mitigation techniques. We analyzed each theme based on the research aim, findings, methodology, specific methods, context, and study scale. We also present the open research questions and suggestions for further investigation. These suggestions can provide extensive insights for scholars and practitioners in designing and conducting impactful and insightful research.

Keywords

• Supply chains
• COVID-19 Pandemic
• Resiliency and Robustness
• Sustainability
• Disruptions and Mitigation