This paper examines the ripple effect in supply chains due to circular flows embedded in supply chain design. Although supply chains are complex and nonlinear, circular flows exist in real-world supply chains but are often unknown or hidden to supply chain managers. These circular flows exist when a Tier 2 supplier is also a Tier 3 (or higher) supplier in the supply chain network. Additionally, a circular network can occur when a supplier is also a customer in the same network. In the presence of these types of supply chain network structures, supply chains may experience a ripple effect (or disruption propagation) in which disruptions impact supply chain performance. Using a real-world supply chain structure, we examine the effect of circular flows on the ripple effect and identify how this influences the supply chain’s resilience to disruptions. We offer managers and researchers insights that improve the understanding of how circular flows exacerbate the ripple effect.

本文研究了由于供应链设计中嵌入的循环流动而在供应链中产生的连锁反应。尽管供应链是复杂且非线性的，但循环流动存在于现实世界的供应链中，但对于供应链管理者来说往往是未知或隐藏的。当二级供应商同时也是供应链网络中的三级（或更高）供应商时，就会存在这些循环流。此外，当供应商也是同一网络中的客户时，可能会出现循环网络。在存在这些类型的供应链网络结构的情况下，供应链可能会经历连锁反应（或中断传播），其中中断会影响供应链绩效。使用现实世界的供应链结构，我们检查循环流动对连锁反应的影响，并确定这如何影响供应链对中断的弹性。