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

Like its tech peers, Meta is grappling with growing memory expenses and supply chain shortages stemming from the artificial intelligence boom. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026

Officials said construction costs have been influenced by supply chains, labor markets and broader economic conditions. —Brandon Downs, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026

In the earnings call, TSMC executives said the chipmaker does not expect any near-term impact on its operations from recent energy and supply chain disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East. —Dylan Butts, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026

The company’s biggest gains came from shifting its material mix and scaling lower-impact fibers, alongside investments in circularity and supply chain programs. —Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 16 Apr. 2026

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