Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

Seeing the importance of supply chain resilience in dealing with disruptions such as the Covid-19 pandemic and managing the complexity of a business' supply chain, it is necessary to disseminate knowledge regarding this matter. One form of knowledge dissemination is the dissemination of research results related to the topic. As part of this effort, the Field of Logistics and Supply Chain Management Studies of FEB UGM designed an annual routine dissemination program called MLRP Impact. MLRP Impact 2021 is titled as MLRP 2021 Research Exposure and the first series was held on Thursday (16/12) with the topic “Supply Chain Resilience for SMEs.”

In this first series, the final theses results were disseminated by three alumni speakers from the Science of Management Masters Program at FEB UGM related to the MSME supply chain amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The first speaker was Tria Putri Noviasari, M.Sc., who presented her thesis titled “The Correlation Between Information Sharing and Supply Chain Performance of Fresh Products in the Covid-19 Pandemic Era: The Role of Supply Uncertainty as a Mediating Variable.”

The main phenomenon behind Tria Putri's research was the change in distribution channels for fresh produce due to the preventive policies related to Covid-19 that were implemented. Problems arose due to the increasing demand for fresh products during the pandemic, which could not be accommodated by the change in supply chain routes. The research was conducted by surveying 197 MSME business owners throughout Indonesia, in which their data was analyzed using quantitative methods.

The conclusion found from the research presentation was that information sharing can positively affect the performance of supply chain flexibility of fresh products, whilst negatively impacting supply uncertainty. Practically speaking, this study recommends that it is important for fresh produce retailers to build and improve information sharing capabilities with suppliers.

The presentation of the results of the next research was delivered by two speakers, namely Mira Ardiyana Nandini, M.B.A. and Linda Kurniawati, M.B.A, titled "Supply Chain Analysis: A Case Study of SMEs in DIY When Facing the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation." This research used qualitative in-depth interviews with MSME actors in Jogja to examine three main topics of supply chain resilience, being readiness (pre-disruption), responsiveness (during disruption), and recovery/growth (post-disruption). Supply chain resilience can be interpreted as supply chain resilience in the face of unexpected events.

In reviewing the main discussion of supply chain resilience, there are capabilities that an MSME business should have to be able to implement it. These capabilities consist of the ability to anticipate, the ability to respond, the ability to adapt, the ability to recover, and the ability to learn. Each capability is also studied further by identifying each element and its practice, obtained from the interview results of respondents.

Reportage: Kirana Lalita Pristy.