The response to Covid-19 in logistics and supply chain processes: evidence from a review of the literature

It is well-known that the Covid-19, originated in December 2019 in China, had a huge impact not only on the population but also on supply chains, which were forced to stop their activities or quickly adapt to the changes. The severity of the impact of Covid19 on logistics and supply chain processes varied across the industrial sectors and depending on the moment in which they were observed. Often, supply chains were found to be not ready for counteracting a pandemic emergency (which is undoubtedly an exceptional event). Some early studies in the literature have analysed the extent of the Covid-19 impacts, or, alternatively, have evaluated the possibility of applying (traditional) risk management models for counteracting a pandemic emergency. Hopefully, after approximately two years of pandemic spread of the virus, we are now entering the post-Covid era. Hence, it is a good time for tracing a balance of the studies focusing on the Covid-19 and in particular, on its effects on logistics and supply chains, on modelling approaches, on strategies used for counteracting the emergency and on suggestions for making supply chains more resilient in the future. This is the focus of this paper, which analyses and classifies the literature published in 2021 and 2022 ( 70 studies) and related to Covid-19 in the supply chain. Keyword analysis helps in evaluating the key topics treated, their popularity and recurrence across the studies. Simulation appears to have been seldom used by researchers in recent times, while general modelling tools (e.g., multi-criteria decision making or structural equation modelling) are definitely more popular among researchers. Suggestions for future research activities can be easily delineated starting from these findings.