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

Artificial Intelligence for the Poor Harnessing the power of AI in the developing world The Treacherous Silicon Triangle How to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain without endangering Taiwan. —Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024

In addition, strategic stockpiling by the US government and corporations could act as a buffer against sudden supply chain disruptions. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune, 10 June 2024

The price of repairs and replacement have skyrocketed due to inflation, workforce and supply chain issues. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 10 June 2024

In early 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy sent $3.15 million to South 8 as part of the Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living program that seeks to bolster the domestic supply chain for advanced batteries. —Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above