COVID-19, Supply Chain, and Profitability: A Survey Based on an Emerging Economy

Abstract

COVID-19 has stunned the whole economy and has been unveiled as a colossal threat to global supply chain management. This paper has tried to assess the implications of COVID-19 on different areas of the supply chain and the profitability of different industries in Bangladesh. The study is based on a questionnaire survey of three major industries of Bangladesh: textile, pharmaceuticals, and banking sectors conducted from December 2021 to February 2022. Descriptive statistics and t-tests for mean differences were used to analyze the data and they are displayed across tables and graphs. It is found that supply chain aspects like raw material, labor, manufacturing facility, import/export, product/service, revenue, and profit are significantly impinged by the pandemic. Furthermore, the supply chain of the manufacturing sector is more affected than that of the service sector, and statistically, significant differences are evidenced between manufacturing industries. The findings and recommendations of this study will have policy implications for regulators, companies, suppliers, investors, and customers. This is a pioneer study to investigate the implications of the pandemic on the supply chain fields.