Temporal dynamics of resilience in the palladium supply chain

A data analytics approach

Master thesis (2024)

Authors

A.J. van Bree Technology, Policy and Management

Contributors

Cees van Beers Economics of Technology and Innovation - TPM (supervisor 1)
M. Comes Transport and Logistics - TPM (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Technology, Policy and Management
Copyright: © 2024 Arnoud van Bree
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Published Date

19-02-2024

Language

English

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Faculty

Technology, Policy and Management

Abstract

Palladium is a critical raw material that is considered economically and strategically important by various national governments. The palladium supply chain is subject to several supply chain risks, including the geopolitical risk of potential Russian palladium export restrictions. Considering these disruption risks, it is essential to gain insight into the resilience of the palladium supply chain. Accordingly, this study investigates the temporal dynamics of resilience in the palladium supply chain using literature review, data analysis, and regression modelling. To that end, the diversity of supply, stockpiling, price, and substitution mechanisms from the qualitative resilience framework by Sprecher et al. (2015) are operationalised in terms of quantitative proxy variables. A PCA-weighted compound resilience index is constructed and quantitatively validated using the palladium market balance as a resilience performance indicator. It is found that the palladium supply chain exhibited an overall improvement of resilience, but still a structural lack of resilience during the years 2012-2021. This thesis contributes to the scientific study of how material criticality and resilience change over time. Moreover, this study informs policy-makers about potential risks for the palladium supply chain and makes policy recommendations to improve the resilience of the palladium supply chain.