Krisenmanagement und Resilienz in der Lieferkette: Eine Fallstudie des Hochwassers 2024 in Österreich

Abstract

In a globally networked supply chain, crisis situations can be challenging for companies. International procurement of raw materials or distribution of finished goods to customers around the world entail risks that organizations are usually aware of and take into account. However, external factors such as flooding, which do not only affect upstream or downstream parts of the supply chain but take place at the company's supposedly flood-protected location, must also increasingly be taken into account in risk assessments. In September 2024, for example, extensive flooding took place in Austria after a long period of heavy rainfall, disrupting supply chains and causing severe damage. Many companies were unable to fully protect themselves from the masses of water, which is why this paper will look at resilient supply chains. Based on the case study, the challenges posed by the floods and the measures taken to overcome them are explained. Based on the literature reviewed, this master's thesis provides an approach to resilience, with a particular focus on logistics. In addition, key elements of civil protection are considered, both at European Union level and at federal and state level. The theoretical part also includes content on crisis management in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the various players in the context of a flood disaster. In order to establish a link to the floods in Austria in September 2024, the evaluations of the qualitative content analysis of the expert interviews are presented and interpreted in the practical part of this paper. The literature research has shown that factors such as agility and flexibility in form of rapid responsiveness, collaboration and end-to-end transparency in the supply chain make a decisive contribution to strengthening resilience. At the same time, companies should develop a risk culture and firmly anchor it in the organization in order to identify potential risks and the resulting threats at an early stage. The case study also shows that in the event of a disaster, measures such as resource allocation or prioritization are mostly effective as a solution to flood-related challenges. Particularly in the area of organizational crisis management, the survey provided significant insights, as the relevant content is hardly available in the literature due to its sensitivity. Aspects such as collaboration, awareness of current issues and the creation of back-ups in the supply chain were identified as key issues in recent years.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Mátyás Gritsch (Supervisor)