Supply chain risks in the dairy industry

Purpose: Supply chain risk (SCR) has been extensively explored in various sectors, yet there is a notable scarcity of SCR studies in the dairy industry. This study aims to identify the primary and distinctive risks in the dairy supply chain (DSC), propose a typological model for SCR, highlight challenges specific to the DSC and offer mitigation strategies. Design/methodology/approach: We employ a systematic literature review to collect and review relevant research articles published between 2010 and 2019 to identify the main risks and mitigation strategies associated with the DSC, enabling the construction of a typological model of DSC risks. Findings: Results of the systematic review of the SCR literature show that the main DSC risks include on-farm risk (e.g. risks originating from the farming system), off-farm risk (e.g. supply risk, demand risk and manufacturing risk) and inherent SCR (e.g. logistics risk, information risk and financial risk). Notably, we find that the farming system plays a key role in today’s agricultural supply chain operations, indicating the importance of considering on-farm risk in the entire DSC. Additionally, mitigation strategies are located in response to the identified DSC risks by the typology of DSC risks. Originality/value: This paper is the first attempt to develop a typological model of SCR for the dairy industry by a systematic literature review. The findings contribute to providing a comprehensive understanding of DSC risks by bridging the gap of ignoring the on-farm risks of the DSC in the existing literature. The typology may serve as a guide in practice to develop mitigation strategies in response to DSC risks.