Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience Through Strategic Supplier Relationship Management
Research Article
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Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience Through Strategic Supplier Relationship Management

Qi Zhao 1*
1 China Agricultural University
*Corresponding author: 145009610@qq.com
Published on 11 July 2025
Volume Cover
AEMPS Vol.203
ISSN (Print): 2754-1177
ISSN (Online): 2754-1169
ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-275-1
ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-276-8
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Abstract

Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) plays a crucial role in enhancing the resilience of global supply chains. This paper investigates how SRM strengthens supply chain stability and agility by fostering better coordination, transparency, and responsiveness. It highlights essential factors such as power dynamics, mutual trust, supplier performance monitoring, and long-term strategic collaboration. As global markets face increasing uncertainties—from geopolitical risks to environmental challenges—organizations rely more heavily on robust SRM frameworks to manage supplier risks and ensure continuity. In recent years, companies have also faced growing pressure to comply with ethical standards, labor regulations, and environmental laws, elevating the importance of SRM as a governance mechanism for ethical sourcing and sustainability. The research incorporates a case study of Walmart, demonstrating how structured SRM practices can help mitigate supply risks, increase supplier responsiveness, and maintain cost-effectiveness under dynamic conditions. It further reveals that companies integrating SRM into broader strategic planning not only reduce their vulnerability to disruption but also build competitive advantage by fostering supplier innovation and flexibility. Overall, the paper concludes that SRM has evolved beyond an operational necessity into a key enabler of long-term organizational resilience, sustainability, and strategic alignment in a rapidly changing global business environment.

Keywords:

Supplier Relationship Management, Resilience, Supply Chain, Trust, Power Dynamics

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Zhao,Q. (2025). Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience Through Strategic Supplier Relationship Management. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,203,1-10.

References

[1]. Glory, E. (2023). Supplier Relationship Management in the Era of Industry 4.0. European Journal of Supply Chain Management, 1(1), 41-51.

[2]. Obinna, N. (2024). Relationship between Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Practices and Supply Chain Resilience. American Journal of Supply Chain Management, 9(1), 1-12.

[3]. Mohapatra, P., Tripathy, S., Dash, A. and Biswal, A. (2021). Supplier relationship management is a key to supply chain management. In Advances in Mechanical Processing and Design: Select Proceedings of ICAMPD 2019 (pp. 661-670). Springer Singapore.

[4]. O'Brien, J. (2022). Supplier relationship management: Unlocking the value in your supply base. Kogan Page Publishers.

[5]. Vaandrager, C. (2024). Optimizing risk mitigation in maritime supply chains through strategic supplier relationship management. Journal of Supply Chain Management Science, 5(1-2), pp.48-65.

[6]. Kayode, S. (2024). Supplier Relationship Management: Enhancing transparency, trust, and collaboration to identify and mitigate supply chain risks.

[7]. Grant, O. (2024). Exploring Transparency and Accountability in Supplier Relationship Management for E-Commerce.

[8]. Allal-Chérif, O., Simón-Moya, V. and Ballester, A.C.C.(2021). Intelligent purchasing: How artificial intelligence can redefine the purchasing function. Journal of Business Research, 124, pp.69-76.

[9]. Grant, O. (2024). Supplier Relationship Management in the Age of Digital Transformation: Insights from E-commerce Businesses.

[10]. Butollo, F.( 2021). Digitalization and the geographies of production: Towards reshoring or global fragmentation?. Competition & Change, 25(2), pp.259-278.

[11]. Brun, A., Karaosman, H. and Barresi, T.(2020). Supply chain collaboration for transparency. Sustainability, 12(11), p.4429

[12]. Timmer, M.P., Los, B., Stehrer, R. and de Vries, G.J. (2021). Supply chain fragmentation and the global trade elasticity: A new accounting framework. IMF Economic Review, 69(4), p.656.

[13]. Ihle, R., Rubin, O.D., Bar-Nahum, Z. and Jongeneel, R. (2020). Imperfect food markets in times of crisis: economic consequences of supply chain disruptions and fragmentation for local market power and urban vulnerability. Food Security, 12(4), pp.727-734.

[14]. Keohane, R.O. and Nye, J.S. (2020). Globalization: What's new? What's not?(And so what?). In Making policy happen (pp. 105-113). Routledge.

[15]. Green, C.L. (2022). Identifying Supplier Management Best Practices to Sustain Organization Resilience: A Systematic Review (Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland University College).

[16]. Muchiri, D. (2022). Supply Chain Risk Management Strategies and Performance of Automotive Industry in Kenya During Covid-19 Pandemic (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).

[17]. Fröhlich, E. and Steinbiß, K.(2020). Supplier relationship management goes digital: first empirical insights. Universal journal of industrial and business management, 8(3), pp.63-73.

[18]. Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2010). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation. Prentice Hall

[19]. Hugos, M. H. (2006). Essentials of supply chain management (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https: //doi.org/10.1002/9781119204001

[20]. Han, Z., Handfield, R.B., Huo, B. and Tian, Y.( 2022). Effects of power use in buyer–supplier relationships: The moderating role of communication. Industrial Marketing Management, 102, pp.45-57.

[21]. Siemieniako, D., Makkonen, H. and Mitręga, M. (2023). Buying center-selling center interaction as a driver for power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 114, pp.94-109.

[22]. Johnsen, R.E., Lacoste, S. and Meehan, J. (2020). Hegemony in asymmetric customer-supplier relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 87, pp.63-75.

[23]. Makkonen, H., Siemieniako, D. and Mitręga, M. (2023). Structural and behavioural power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships: a perceptions-based framework and a research agenda. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 35(9), pp.1099-1113.

[24]. Siemieniako, D. and Kaliszewski, P. (2022). Factors influencing structural power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships: a power sources framework and application of the critical incident technique. Oeconomia Copernicana, 13(1), pp.151-179.

[25]. Glavee-Geo, R., Engelseth, P. and Buvik, A.(2022). Power imbalance and the dark side of the captive agri-food supplier–buyer relationship. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(3), pp.609-628.

[26]. Bounlutay, A.(2024). Buyer-supplier relationship: Creating and managing relationship to build a competitive advantage.

[27]. Agarwal, U.A. and Narayana, S.A.(2020). Impact of relational communication on buyer–supplier relationship satisfaction: role of trust and commitment. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(8), pp.2459-2496.

[28]. Faruquee, M., Paulraj, A. and Irawan, C.A.( 2021). Strategic supplier relationships and supply chain resilience: is digital transformation that precludes trust beneficial?. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(7), pp.1192-1219.

[29]. Gomes, L.D.C. ( 2022). Mitigation of Supply Chain Vulnerability Through Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR). In Supply Chain Risk Mitigation: Strategies, Methods and Applications (pp. 95-119). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

[30]. Silva, P.M.P.F.D. (2023). Power in buyer-supplier relationships: multiple case studies in electronic retailing (Doctoral dissertation, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão).

[31]. Wildenborg, S.J.A. (2022). The effectiveness of power in supply chain relationships during times of scarcities (Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente).

[32]. Schwieterman, M.A., Miller, J., Knemeyer, A.M. and Croxton, K.L. (2020). Do supply chain exemplars have more or less dependent suppliers?. Journal of Business Logistics, 41(2), pp.149-173.

[33]. Roy, S.N. and Roy, S. (2024). Economies Of Scale In Retail Sectors-Lowering Cost And Assuring Competitive Price. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(4), pp.854-864.

[34]. Cleary, S. and McLarney, C.(2021). How Logistics Is Evolving: Why It Is Appropriate for Today and the Next Decade. IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, 18(1).

[35]. Özcan, S. (2023). Dynamics of conflicts in multi-actor logistics service networks.

[36]. Bag, S., Choi, T.M., Rahman, M.S., Srivastava, G. and Singh, R.K.(2022). Examining collaborative buyer–supplier relationships and social sustainability in the “new normal” era: The moderating effects of justice and big data analytical intelligence. Annals of operations research, pp.1-46.

[37]. Adesanya, A., Yang, B., Bin Iqdara, F.W. and Yang, Y., (2020). Improving sustainability performance through supplier relationship management in the tobacco industry. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 25(4), pp.413-426.

[38]. Schirnhofer, N.M. (2022). Sustainability efforts in the retail industry: the case study of walmart (Master's thesis, Webster University).

References

[1]. Glory, E. (2023). Supplier Relationship Management in the Era of Industry 4.0. European Journal of Supply Chain Management, 1(1), 41-51.

[2]. Obinna, N. (2024). Relationship between Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) Practices and Supply Chain Resilience. American Journal of Supply Chain Management, 9(1), 1-12.

[3]. Mohapatra, P., Tripathy, S., Dash, A. and Biswal, A. (2021). Supplier relationship management is a key to supply chain management. In Advances in Mechanical Processing and Design: Select Proceedings of ICAMPD 2019 (pp. 661-670). Springer Singapore.

[4]. O'Brien, J. (2022). Supplier relationship management: Unlocking the value in your supply base. Kogan Page Publishers.

[5]. Vaandrager, C. (2024). Optimizing risk mitigation in maritime supply chains through strategic supplier relationship management. Journal of Supply Chain Management Science, 5(1-2), pp.48-65.

[6]. Kayode, S. (2024). Supplier Relationship Management: Enhancing transparency, trust, and collaboration to identify and mitigate supply chain risks.

[7]. Grant, O. (2024). Exploring Transparency and Accountability in Supplier Relationship Management for E-Commerce.

[8]. Allal-Chérif, O., Simón-Moya, V. and Ballester, A.C.C.(2021). Intelligent purchasing: How artificial intelligence can redefine the purchasing function. Journal of Business Research, 124, pp.69-76.

[9]. Grant, O. (2024). Supplier Relationship Management in the Age of Digital Transformation: Insights from E-commerce Businesses.

[10]. Butollo, F.( 2021). Digitalization and the geographies of production: Towards reshoring or global fragmentation?. Competition & Change, 25(2), pp.259-278.

[11]. Brun, A., Karaosman, H. and Barresi, T.(2020). Supply chain collaboration for transparency. Sustainability, 12(11), p.4429

[12]. Timmer, M.P., Los, B., Stehrer, R. and de Vries, G.J. (2021). Supply chain fragmentation and the global trade elasticity: A new accounting framework. IMF Economic Review, 69(4), p.656.

[13]. Ihle, R., Rubin, O.D., Bar-Nahum, Z. and Jongeneel, R. (2020). Imperfect food markets in times of crisis: economic consequences of supply chain disruptions and fragmentation for local market power and urban vulnerability. Food Security, 12(4), pp.727-734.

[14]. Keohane, R.O. and Nye, J.S. (2020). Globalization: What's new? What's not?(And so what?). In Making policy happen (pp. 105-113). Routledge.

[15]. Green, C.L. (2022). Identifying Supplier Management Best Practices to Sustain Organization Resilience: A Systematic Review (Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland University College).

[16]. Muchiri, D. (2022). Supply Chain Risk Management Strategies and Performance of Automotive Industry in Kenya During Covid-19 Pandemic (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).

[17]. Fröhlich, E. and Steinbiß, K.(2020). Supplier relationship management goes digital: first empirical insights. Universal journal of industrial and business management, 8(3), pp.63-73.

[18]. Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2010). Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation. Prentice Hall

[19]. Hugos, M. H. (2006). Essentials of supply chain management (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https: //doi.org/10.1002/9781119204001

[20]. Han, Z., Handfield, R.B., Huo, B. and Tian, Y.( 2022). Effects of power use in buyer–supplier relationships: The moderating role of communication. Industrial Marketing Management, 102, pp.45-57.

[21]. Siemieniako, D., Makkonen, H. and Mitręga, M. (2023). Buying center-selling center interaction as a driver for power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 114, pp.94-109.

[22]. Johnsen, R.E., Lacoste, S. and Meehan, J. (2020). Hegemony in asymmetric customer-supplier relationships. Industrial Marketing Management, 87, pp.63-75.

[23]. Makkonen, H., Siemieniako, D. and Mitręga, M. (2023). Structural and behavioural power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships: a perceptions-based framework and a research agenda. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 35(9), pp.1099-1113.

[24]. Siemieniako, D. and Kaliszewski, P. (2022). Factors influencing structural power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships: a power sources framework and application of the critical incident technique. Oeconomia Copernicana, 13(1), pp.151-179.

[25]. Glavee-Geo, R., Engelseth, P. and Buvik, A.(2022). Power imbalance and the dark side of the captive agri-food supplier–buyer relationship. Journal of Business Ethics, 178(3), pp.609-628.

[26]. Bounlutay, A.(2024). Buyer-supplier relationship: Creating and managing relationship to build a competitive advantage.

[27]. Agarwal, U.A. and Narayana, S.A.(2020). Impact of relational communication on buyer–supplier relationship satisfaction: role of trust and commitment. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(8), pp.2459-2496.

[28]. Faruquee, M., Paulraj, A. and Irawan, C.A.( 2021). Strategic supplier relationships and supply chain resilience: is digital transformation that precludes trust beneficial?. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(7), pp.1192-1219.

[29]. Gomes, L.D.C. ( 2022). Mitigation of Supply Chain Vulnerability Through Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR). In Supply Chain Risk Mitigation: Strategies, Methods and Applications (pp. 95-119). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

[30]. Silva, P.M.P.F.D. (2023). Power in buyer-supplier relationships: multiple case studies in electronic retailing (Doctoral dissertation, Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão).

[31]. Wildenborg, S.J.A. (2022). The effectiveness of power in supply chain relationships during times of scarcities (Bachelor's thesis, University of Twente).

[32]. Schwieterman, M.A., Miller, J., Knemeyer, A.M. and Croxton, K.L. (2020). Do supply chain exemplars have more or less dependent suppliers?. Journal of Business Logistics, 41(2), pp.149-173.

[33]. Roy, S.N. and Roy, S. (2024). Economies Of Scale In Retail Sectors-Lowering Cost And Assuring Competitive Price. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(4), pp.854-864.

[34]. Cleary, S. and McLarney, C.(2021). How Logistics Is Evolving: Why It Is Appropriate for Today and the Next Decade. IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, 18(1).

[35]. Özcan, S. (2023). Dynamics of conflicts in multi-actor logistics service networks.

[36]. Bag, S., Choi, T.M., Rahman, M.S., Srivastava, G. and Singh, R.K.(2022). Examining collaborative buyer–supplier relationships and social sustainability in the “new normal” era: The moderating effects of justice and big data analytical intelligence. Annals of operations research, pp.1-46.

[37]. Adesanya, A., Yang, B., Bin Iqdara, F.W. and Yang, Y., (2020). Improving sustainability performance through supplier relationship management in the tobacco industry. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 25(4), pp.413-426.

[38]. Schirnhofer, N.M. (2022). Sustainability efforts in the retail industry: the case study of walmart (Master's thesis, Webster University).

Cite this article

Zhao,Q. (2025). Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience Through Strategic Supplier Relationship Management. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,203,1-10.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICEMGD 2025 Symposium: Resilient Business Strategies in Global Markets

ISBN: 978-1-80590-275-1(Print) / 978-1-80590-276-8(Online)
Editor: Florian Marcel Nuţă Nuţă, Li Chai
Conference website: https://2025.icemgd.org/CAU.html
Conference date: 20 September 2025
Series: Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences
Volume number: Vol.203
ISSN: 2754-1169(Print) / 2754-1177(Online)

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