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

After pandemic-era supply chain snags and manufacturing slowdowns led to lasting shortages starting in 2021, there’s now a broader selection on dealer lots for buyers to choose from. —Sarah O'Brien, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025

The provider of global business sustainability ratings said climate inaction is mounting; ignoring supply chain emissions could cost companies more than $500 billion annually by 2030, according to the 2025 Carbon Action Report by EcoVadis and Boston Consulting Group (BCG). —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 26 Nov. 2025

The volume and diversity of recent recalls highlight persistent supply chain and manufacturing challenges facing the food and retail industry in 2025. —Sam Stevenson, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025

For instance, a fraud detection model built for finance can be quickly adapted for supply chain security. —Dave McCann, Fortune, 26 Nov. 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