CSCMP releases tool to help assess a location's "global supply chain readiness"

It can be difficult to determine whether a location would be a good fit for a company's global supply chain operations. To help members make those types of decisions, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) has partnered with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville's (UT) Global Supply Chain Institute (GSCI) and the London-based consultancy IHS Markit to produce the EPIC Global Supply Chain Readiness Index (EPIC).

The EPIC report combines UT's quantitative analysis with IHS Markit's qualitative assessment of more than 55 countries on four criteria that are critical to effective supply chain operations: economics, politics, infrastructure, and workforce competence. According to CSCMP, this tool will help supply chain leaders make more informed decisions about how to best operate in these markets.

"Adapting to the ever-changing supply chain landscape requires vigilance and adaptability. Supply chain leaders are always planning for disruption, and the EPIC Index is a new tool to help today's leaders enhance their risk management strategies," said President and CEO of CSCMP, Rick Blasgen.

The EPIC Global Supply Chain Readiness Index 2020 report is built upon a book authored by a team of faculty from the University of Tennessee and ESSEC School of Management (Paris, France) entitled Global Supply Chains: Evaluating Regions on an EPIC Framework. The EPIC framework originally introduced in the book provides an approach that enables firms to better assess different locations for global supply chain operations, including sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution. With data sets selected by UT and analysis provided by IHS Markit, the EPIC Report 2020 will update the previous work and give supply chain executives insight about the capabilities of their global supply chains.

CSCMP members have free access to the EPIC report. Nonmembers can purchase the report for $495. To download the report, click here.