Defining a common ground for supply chain risk management – a case study in the fast-moving consumer goods industry

The research has the objective to analyse the definition of key terms of the supply chain risk management (SCRM) literature, reflect them with the perspective of managers in the case study company and to lay a foundation for further research. Definitions of the terms ‘risk’, ‘supply chain risk’, ‘supply chain management’, ‘risk management’ and ‘ SCRM’ are analysed to test whether their combination provides a singular definition of SCRM. The results were further analysed in intense interviews with the case study company to identify factors, intensify potential definition problems and subsequently implementation obstacles. We come to the proposition that unclear definitions of terms impede the implementation of SCRM in companies and a singular definition is impractical, i.e. requiring a case-by-case definition of SCRM to effectively research or implement it.