supply chain

noun

plural supply chains

: the chain of processes, businesses, etc. by which a commodity is produced and distributed : the companies, materials, and systems involved in manufacturing and delivering goods

The pandemic has disrupted nearly every aspect of the global supply chain—that's the usually invisible pathway of manufacturing, transportation and logistics that gets goods from where they are manufactured, mined or grown to where they are going. At the end of the chain is another company or a consumer who has paid for the finished product.

—Peter S. Goodman

Everyday life in the United States is acutely dependent on the perpetual motion of the supply chain, in which food and medicine and furniture and clothing all compete for many of the same logistical resources. … [W]hen a finite supply of packaging can't keep up with demand, when there aren't enough longshoremen or truck drivers or postal workers, when a container ship gets wedged sideways in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes—the effects ripple outward for weeks or months, emptying shelves and raising prices in ways that can seem random. All of a sudden, you can't buy kettlebells or canned seltzer.

—Amanda Mull

Examples of supply chain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The two governments are negotiating a trade framework aimed at expanding investment, coordinating supply chains and setting new standards for digital and industrial policy. —Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025

Beijing’s strategy is to localize supply chains and make other countries more dependent on China. —Neil Thomas, Time, 29 Oct. 2025

Sportswear brands, which source everything from tracksuits to sneakers from factories in Asia, are shifting their supply chains and raising prices to manage the impact of higher US tariffs. —Reuters 19 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025

But experts are still concerned about building a sustainable food supply chain for the future. —Nino Paoli, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for supply chain

• aeroplane
• appertain
• ascertain
• capitaine
• cassegrain
• cellophane
• chatelaine
• counterpane
• entertain
• gethsemane
• halothane
• hurricane