Supply chain risk assessment and an application in the automotive industry

The main purpose of this study is to reveal the relationships between supply chain risks in the automotive industry. In this context, the study also aims to identify supply chain risks and develop a model for their predecessors and successors. The study was designed in three parts in line with the stated purposes. In the first part of the study, a literature review was conducted on risk, risk management and supply chain risk classification. In the second part, the importance and structure of the automotive industry is touched upon and supply chain connections are discussed. Additionally, in this section, a general risk classification has been created in accordance with the basic business processes of the supply chain. In the third part of the study, the participants, the risks to be evaluated and the method used within the scope of the research process are mentioned. DEMATEL method, one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods, was used in the analysis of the relationship between risks, combined with fuzzy logic. In the study, a form that allows examining structured bilateral relations was prepared as a data collection tool. The form was shared with experts in managerial positions working in supply chain processes in automotive main industry and sub-industry businesses operating in Turkey. The study was conducted with 16 academicians from the industry who were willing to participate in the study and 4 academicians who are experts in the field of supply chain and provide theoretical contributions to the industry. According to the research findings, it has been concluded that environmental and security risks, which we accept as the main risks, have the most impact on financial, network, customer, supplier, transportation/distribution and business risks. When we look at the impact levels of risks, it is seen that customer risks are most affected by other risk factors. When the system is considered as a whole, among the eight main risks, the risk most related to other risks is business risks. When we look at the risks under the main risk headings mentioned, risks such as war, natural disasters, economic crisis and fire are among the groups that affect other risks the most. However, risks such as stock, inability to deliver materials on time, production capacity, transportation costs and raw material costs were among the most affected risk groups. Due to the broader and complexity of the supply chain network and the interdependence of chain members, the high vulnerable to risks has become the most important element in addressing the automotive industry. Again, reasons such as the chip crisis in recent years, facility closures or line stoppages due to natural disasters, and quality-related recalls have encouraged us to turn to this industry. While there are studies on functions such as supply, operational, purchasing and transportation in risk assessment, there are relatively scarce studies on comprehensive supply chain perspectives. In addition, it seems that the relationships between risks are generally ignored in risk assessment. The resulting relationship network can be considered to make a significant contribution to both the literature and practitioners in terms of providing insight.