Port Conflict Supply Chain Disruptions A case study in an attempt to investigate the Gothenburg port-labour conflict from a manufacturing perspective

Abstract

Scholars have addressed various supply chain disruptions that negatively affect companies in terms of operations and financial performance (Sodhi & Tang, 2012; Lam & Su, 2015; Blackhurst, Craighead, Elkins & Handfield, 2005), while few have studied in-depth port centric supply chain disruptions. In recent years, the likelihood of port conflicts has increased leaving serious consequences behind. By combining previous research and the paper qualitative analysis, the authors attempted to investigate the 2016 port-labour conflict that has arisen between the APM terminals and one of the labour unions in Port of Gothenburg in April 2016, which followed strikes, lockouts and other industrial actions. The port is of a strategic importance in the region that connects 70 percent of the Scandinavian businesses, therefore the conflict has affected various industries leading many companies to take mitigation initiatives, which usually generate costs as well as affects productivity. The negative effects were observed through conducting a case study addressing the conflict from a forestry manufacturing perspective. The forestry industry was involved since it requires a considerable capacity and weight that usually becomes an issue during a supply chain disruption. Eleven companies were involved and through comparing the results from both forestry manufacturers and logistics providers, the primary, secondary and tertiary consequences and mitigation strategies/initiatives were determined. The contributions have focused on revealing implications for both theory and practice in linkage to the research topic. In other words, it aimed to bridge the theoretical gap and provide insights for practitioners to efficiently overcome a Port Conflict Supply Chain Disruption