Critical Supply Chains & Environmental Security

Building data-driven insight to secure supply chains, foresee systemic shocks, and safeguard critical resources for a resilient future.

 

Photo Credit: Christopher Furlong, Getty Images

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Global Supply Chains as a network

Why Critical Supply Chains Matter

Society is critically dependent on (usually just-in-time) supply chains for food and other critical resources. These are threatened, on varying time horizons, by:

  • climate impacts on fresh water and agriculture, economic instability and failing states
  • climate impacts on trade routes and choke points (e.g. maritime)
  • geopolitical realignment, loss of globalisation, trade conflict and market failures
  • future pandemics and other global shocks to supply operations

Our premise is that supply chain resilience is a critical factor in national security and cannot be taken for granted. Our vision is to build, via interdisciplinary collaborations, a UK centre for data-driven supply chain modelling and forecasting that will help to inform policy makers and warn of systemic shocks at both national and global levels.

Objectives

  • To model and forecast vulnerabilities in critical supply chains using advanced data-driven and interdisciplinary approaches.
  • To assess the impact of climate change, geopolitical shifts, and global shocks on supply chain stability.
  • To design strategies and tools for enhancing resilience and adaptive capacity in national and global supply systems.
  • To inform policymakers and industry leaders with evidence-based insights to anticipate and mitigate systemic risks.

Questions

  • What are the most critical risk factors threatening global and national supply chains over the next decade?
  • How can integrated models predict cascading failures across interconnected supply networks?
  • What strategies and policies most effectively enhance resilience in the face of climate, geopolitical, and economic shocks?
  • How can interdisciplinary research shape proactive frameworks for supply chain security and national preparedness?

Members

Bill Oxbury

Professor Bill Oxbury

Professor in Practice for MARS, Professor in Practice - Data and Cyber Research, Enterprise and Engagement

MARS: Mathematics for AI in Real-world Systems

Rob Lamb

Professor Rob Lamb

Professor in Practice

DSI - Environment, Extreme Value Theory, Morecambe Bay Curriculum, Security Lancaster, Sustainable Catchments, Water Science

+44 (0)7866 715761
Anas Iftikhar

Dr Anas Iftikhar

International Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Centre for Productivity and Innovation, Security Lancaster, Supply Chain Management

Kostas Selviaridis

Professor Kostas Selviaridis

Personal Chair

Centre for Health Futures, Centre for Productivity and Innovation, Centre for Transport & Logistics (CENTRAL), Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK , Health Systems, Pentland Centre, Security Lancaster, Supply Chain Management

D39, D - Floor, Charles Carter Building
Jessica Bridgen

Dr Jessica Bridgen

Senior Research Associate - MARS

Bayesian and Computational Statistics, Biostatistics , MARS: Mathematics for AI in Real-world Systems, Security Lancaster

Luciana Mendes Barbosa

Dr Luciana Mendes Barbosa

Lecturer in Sociology (Climate Change)

Critical Geographies