The impact of the Covid pandemic on the supply chain in the electronics industry and Its recovery strategies

Abstract: The covid pandemic has brought severe impacts on the supply chain of the electronics industry since it starts. Electronic companies are struggling to find strategies for reducing these impacts. The purpose of the research intends to provide decision-makers in the electronics industry with a clear understanding of the impacts on the supply chain and support them to formulate effective recovery activities and long-term strategies for restructuring more resilient and sustainable supply chains in the future.  Delphi method was performed in the research with the consideration of the aim and research questions, research quality as well as the available resources. The consensus among a group of experts was achieved after two rounds of investigation. The empirical data was collected from 12 experts in the 8 electronic companies through interviews and questionnaires. Both data collection techniques are suitable and have advantages in obtaining people’s perspectives and experiences of reality.  In the study, an amount of 10 impact items, 9 short-term recovery actions, and 10 proposals of long-term strategies were identified and aligned. Followed up by the analysis and discussion together with existing findings from previous literature. The impacts will vary from company to company, and each recovery activity has its own strengths and weaknesses, so decision-makers need to choose the appropriate recovery activities considering the realities of company resources and the economy. Furthermore, the findings of long-term strategies implied that the supply chain should be restructured in terms of resilience and sustainability from a long-term perspective.  Future research can continue to examine how these strategies can be implemented by exploring case studies with electronics companies. Besides, it is also valuable to investigate what are the main challenges in carrying out these strategies. A broader survey in the electronic industry is also recommended to validate the results.