NCHRP Research Report 1154: Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions amid COVID-19 provides a guide for addressing critical supply chain logistics challenges during major disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It features case studies, lessons learned, and strategies to enhance supply chain resilience and minimize interruptions. An accompanying toolkit should help practitioners at state and local government agencies identify effective responses to critical disruptions. These resources will benefit public and private sector professionals responsible for supply chain logistics and resilience.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lockdown orders, border closures, and port congestion, which contributed to nationwide supply chain disruption. This disruption led to increased demand and shortages of essential goods, including medical equipment, paper products, cleaning supplies, manufacturing inputs, and certain food items. The pandemic highlighted supply chain vulnerabilities and exposed the risks of reliance on internationally sourced materials, especially critical medical supplies. Research was needed to explore supply chain disruptions, adaptations, successes, and failures during the pandemic, to gain insights to help state and local government agencies prepare for and mitigate impacts during future major supply chain disruptions.

Under NCHRP Project 23-13(04), “Scoping Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions amid COVID-19,” Dewberry was asked to fulfill two objectives: (1) develop strategies for state and local government agencies to plan for future supply chain disruption, and (2) create a toolkit to help practitioners identify effective practices associated with overcoming supply chain challenges and leveraging opportunities. The study included case studies conducted to gain a better understanding of supply chain processes, limitations related to infrastructure and labor, challenges, opportunities, effective practices, and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accompanying NCHRP Research Report 1154 are a toolkit with summary content and resources to help practitioners overcome supply chain challenges, a PowerPoint summary of the project, and an implementation plan, which can be found on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Research Report 1154: Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions amid COVID-19.