Supply chain resilience – preparing citizens for crises and supply chain disruptions: Case Finland

Purpose
Disasters are causing disruption; there are breaks in service provision, supply of utilities, and basic goods. Even in the case of a well-prepared country, it is impossible to restore all the functions in a short span of time. It means societies need to be prepared to deal with disruption also at the household level, individuals and families need to be ready for disruption. A whole-of-society approach to crisis preparedness considers citizens active participants in the crisis management life cycle.

Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts a qualitative approach; data are collected through secondary sources and interviews with key informants that represent a network of Finnish institutions (including both governmental and volunteer organizations) involved in preparedness for disasters and disruptions in the supply of goods and services caused by crises.

Findings
The findings indicate that to ensure societal resilience and a solid level of preparedness there is a need for close cooperation between different actors, including not only public authorities, but also volunteer citizen-centric organizations, commercial entities, and research institutions. It takes time to create a culture of preparedness, thus a long-term vision is needed, and constant communication across different sectors of society, including citizens.

Research limitations
Research is based on interviews with key expert informants; individuals (representatives of society, citizens, or families) were not interviewed.

Practical and societal implications
The role of households is specified, which could facilitate household preparedness in society. As Finland is considered a benchmark for other countries, this paper could allow others to learn from how the Finnish system is designed and who is involved in household preparedness.