This broader view must consider the fact that supply chains consist of multiple geographically distributed, interacting, autonomous decision units that are subject to a wide variety of strategic, tactical and operational uncertainties. Emerging concerns related to climate change, labor sector shocks and evolving geopolitics require new research that can enhance our understanding of these critical socioeconomic systems as they respond to these challenges. However, the widespread supply chain disruptions observed during the recent pandemic highlight the broader societal role of supply chains in providing essential goods and services to all segments of the population. Remarkable efficiencies have been achieved in design, manufacturing, logistics, and inventory management (such as lean manufacturing, cross-docking, design for manufacturability/assembly, etc.), enabled by significant research investments in manufacturing technologies, digital transformation, optimization techniques, and computational methods. For more than fifty years, global supply chains for consumer products have focused on meeting stable demand at low cost. Supply chains are complex global networks of economic actors and resources that mediate the production and delivery of products, systems, and services to market, encompassing product design and development, material and component sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution. Proposals addressing research questions of interest to multiple programs are especially encouraged. ![]() ![]() With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), the Operations Engineering (OE), Engineering Design and Systems Engineering (EDSE), Advanced Manufacturing (AM), and Manufacturing Systems Integration (MSI) programs announce their interest in receiving research proposals seeking to significantly advance our understanding of global supply chains, especially their ability to provide industrial goods, critical healthcare and medical products, consumer products, and key services reliably and equitably under a wide variety of operating conditions, including disruptions and emerging threats. The need for improvements to supply chains is specifically highlighted in the recent National Strategy for Advanced Manufacturing and Executive Order on America's Supply Chains. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major dislocations in global supply and demand, exposing vulnerabilities in almost every supply chain and bringing their importance to the functioning of civil society into sharp focus.
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