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Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions amid COVID-19 (2025)

Chapter: Appendix: Supply Chain Toolkit

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Suggested Citation: "Appendix: Supply Chain Toolkit." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions amid COVID-19. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29153.

APPENDIX

Supply Chain Toolkit

Introduction

The Supply Chain Toolkit developed with this report provides a summary of key findings presented as an interactive PDF. This format provides stakeholders with material that can be readily presented and reviewed to better understand the key elements of this work. The Toolkit may 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. The cover of this toolkit is shown in Figure A-1.

Large container ships are docked alongside cranes unloading large, colorful shipping containers. The port is illuminated with bright yellow lights. The text on the page reads “Supply Chain Toolkit: Scoping Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions” by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (N C H R P). — Figure A-1. Title page of the Supply Chain Toolkit.

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The information included with the Toolkit is structured in the same way as the main report, moving from context, to challenges, to case studies, to effective practices:

Supply Chain Context

Elements of the Supply Chain

Infrastructure Supporting the Supply Chain

Transportation Infrastructure

Supporting Infrastructure

Commonly Moved Commodities

Supply Chain Challenges

Case Studies

West Coast Port Congestion

Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack

Food / Agriculture Bottlenecks

Truck Stop Capacity

PPE Supply Shortages

Effective Practices

Supply Chain Context

This section of the toolkit includes a graphic overview for elements of the supply chain mapped to the various case studies included in the report and toolkit. The interactive elements include a summary page that lists corresponding elements (supplier, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and end users) with each of the relevant case studies, as shown in Figure A-2.

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The screenshot depicts a flowchart of five elements of the supply chain, progressing from left to right and connected with arrows. At the top right is a box with definitions of Process and Stock. Process is defined as a series of steps or actions or events that transform something (for example, raw material to manufactured product) or achieve a particular result (for example, distribution of goods from a distribution center). Stock is defined as a quantity of product that is stored to meet demand and production needs (for example, raw materials at a manufacturing facility or finished goods at a distribution center). The five elements in the flowchart are as follows: Element 1, Suppliers (process and stock): Suppliers represent those entities that supply a raw material or product, which is often manufactured before distribution to retailers. Suppliers include raw materials such as fuel, minerals, and food. Element 2, Manufacturers (process and stock): Manufacturers or producers represent those entities that take a raw material or product and turn it into a product to be sold. This includes producers and/or processors of food and manufacturers of electronics, vehicles, and other goods. Element 3, Distributors (process and stock): Distributors and wholesalers serve as intermediaries between manufacturers or producers and retailers and often work with multiple manufacturers/producers on the “upstream” side and many retailers on the “downstream” side. Element 4, Retailers (process and stock): Retailers and other distribution channels sell or give products to end users. Examples include grocery stores, hospitals or health clinics, and nongovernmental organizations such as food banks. Above the first four steps are arches of dotted lines, labeled as “information exchange,” connecting each of the first four steps with the other three. Underneath each of the first 4 steps is a subhead, ‘Learn More,’ with links to four case studies. Step 5, End users: End users purchase or obtain the products from the retailers and other distribution channels. The bottom left corner of the page reads ‘NCHRP Supply Chain Toolkit.’ The bottom center reads ‘Table of Contents’ with navigation arrows on either side. The page number is 3. — Figure A-2. Toolkit page depicting the elements of the supply chain and corresponding case studies.

This section also describes the core elements of the supply chain, including the transportation systems, the supporting infrastructure, and labor, to provide a reference for identifying, planning, and prioritization initiatives that influence supply chain operations. The contents of this section are shown in Figure A-3.

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The right side of the page shows a close view of a railway track. Towards the right of the track is a goods train with a series of containers. The text given in the screenshot is as follows: Networks enable the flow of commodities, people, and information. The supply chain networks consist primarily of built transportation infrastructure systems. This section will describe the general operational structures and ownership of these systems and their interdependencies. This categorization includes public and private infrastructure systems and will reference interdependencies and how some commodities may be restricted to just some networks (e.g., restrictions on chemicals and batteries for airfreight, bulk liquids or materials requiring rail, etc.). Two bulleted lists read as follows: Transportation: Road, Rail, Maritime, Inland Waterways, Aviation, and Pipeline; Supporting Infrastructure and Labor: Utility Systems, Equipment and Facilities, Communication Systems, Labor, External Environment, Regulations, Market, and Finance. ‘Read More” links appear at the bottom of each list. The bottom left corner of the page reads, ‘NCHRP Supply Chain Toolkit.’ The bottom center reads ‘Table of Contents’ with navigation arrows on either side. The page number is 4. — Figure A-3. Toolkit page identifying the supply chain infrastructure.

Supply Chain Challenges

The Toolkit includes a discussion of the challenges seen in supply chain operations, categorized as shown in this report, to include challenges of congestion and capacity, information and data, security, equipment, workforce, regulatory, and supplier source.

Case Studies

Each of the five case studies developed with this report are provided in the Supply Chain Toolkit, highlighting the key issues, a case summary, associated challenges, lessons learned, and effective practices. A sample page from one of the case studies is shown in Figure A-4.

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The top right section of the page shows 5 different colored blocks labeled Suppliers, Manufacturers, Distributors, Retailers, and End Users. Information on Case Study 1 is given as follows: Key Issue: Port of L A or L B, vital to U.S. goods, faced unprecedented challenges during COVID. Import surge overwhelmed fixed space and traditional systems. Worker shortages and single import region compounded delays. Ports adapted with extended hours, new technology, and collaboration, highlighting need for a more flexible and diversified supply chain. Challenges: Physical: Limited space for storing containers despite large port size. Info and data: Outdated systems hindered communication and slowed processing. Equipment: Shortage of truck chassis for transporting containers. Workforce: COVID infections and safety measures reduced available labor. Regulatory: New safety protocols slowed down cargo handling. Supplier: Overreliance on East Asia for imports caused delays. Summary: The Ports of Los Angeles (L A) and Long Beach (L B), together handling nearly 30 percent of US container traffic, faced major congestion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Images of backed-up cargo ships became emblematic of the global supply chain disruptions experienced by consumers in 2020 and 2021. While the surge in import demand was a key factor, these disruptions stemmed from a complex interplay of pandemic impacts across the entire supply chain. A small line graph shows container volumes over time, fluctuating with a noticeable dip and rise. It demonstrates the volatility of supply chain throughput during the case study period. The text next to the graph reads as follows: The surge in container volumes presents only a limited picture of the conditions, because the port’s capacity (the maximum number of vessels the port can handle in a given time) is established by multiple system parameters. A quotation below the graph reads as follows: “The historic level of cargo that we’re managing reflects our commitment to reach new heights by working with our partners to further enhance our productivity, throughput, and velocity. Much credit goes to our longshore workers, truckers, terminal operators, and ocean carriers, railroads, and other stakeholders for scaling up to meet this extraordinary demand.” The quotation is attributed to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, from a News Release dated June 15, 2021. The bottom left corner of the page reads, ‘NCHRP Supply Chain Toolkit.’ The bottom center reads ‘Table of Contents’ with navigation arrows on either side. The page number is 8. — Figure A-4. Sample of a Case Study page in the Supply Chain Toolkit.

Effective Practices

As a culmination of the project literature review and case study development, this section provides a summary of the effective practices associated with mitigating disruptions to supply chain operations, as seen in Figure A-5.