CCSCCE | COMPETENCE CENTER FOR SUPPLY CHAIN & CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The Competence Center sees itself as a hub between research and teaching on the one hand, and business, politics and institutions on the other, with the aim of developing a comprehensive and holistic view of the physical and digital supply chain.

In the field of tension between globalization, digitalization and automation, the interest lies in a holistic view of the vulnerability of the supply chain and its networks. (basic, supply and public networks) as the sum of primary and auxiliary processes (especially storage and transportation of goods, information and money), taking into account the embedding in transnational and international supply systems (energy, raw materials, food, medical consumables, information, etc.), which can lead to interruptions and bottlenecks in supply due to political, legal, economic, civil, technical, natural/biological and environmental events, “man-made” and “non-man-made”.

The development of risk-reducing strategies and resilience strategies requires innovations in qualitative and quantitative concepts, models, methods and tools in the field of risk assessment as well as modeling and simulation in order to determine the degree of resilience required (stockpiling, self-production, self-sufficiency in raw materials) at state and corporate level.

Technologies in the supply chain are increasingly of strategic importance as the backbone of supply chain optimization to ensure efficiency, security and profitability. To this end, technologies (e.g. DLT/blockchain) or applications for supply chain processes are to be identified, in particular those required for synchronization within and between the supply chains, from the raw material supplier to the end customer.

Attention to the sustainability of the supply chain (ecological, economic and social aspects, as a departure from the 1 criterion design principle of minimum possible costs) and thus the circular economy and the steady state economy is another important and integrated component of the field of activity.

The tasks of the competence center are:

• Positioning the competence center as a visible, accessible, reliable and credible source of information on the supply chain.
• Development of methods for and analysis of threats, vulnerabilities and development of resilience strategies
• Identification of (new) technologies and evaluation for supply chain applications
• Development of concepts for the Circular / Steady State Economy.
• Developing and disseminating best practice on a scientific basis through research, publishing and organizing/participating in congresses, symposia, seminars and the “Science Cloud”