Supply Chain Resilience Guide
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Phase 4: Action develops and implements preparedness activities, including tabletop exercises,
with partners to enhance supply chain resilience. These preparedness activities may include
actions that private sector partners can take, either to mitigate disruption of their nodes or links
or to create continuity in the event of a disruption. They may also include developing or revising
Emergency Operations Plan annexes or logistics plans outlining how the jurisdiction will
implement logistics operations in light of potential supply chain issues.
Phase 5: Assess and Refine maintains the effort by refreshing the data and revising the analysis
as needed and continuing to collaborate with stakeholders. Supply chains and stakeholders are
constantly changing, so an ongoing effort is critical.
The following sections present additional details about each phase of the supply chain resilience
process, along with examples of how this process may apply to the fuel sector. Figure 3 on page
17 provides a consolidated graphic of the fuel sector examples.
Phase 1: Research and Mapping
This phase uses readily available data, such as open
source information or other available data sets, to
identify and map supply chain nodes.
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This
information, which the emergency manager will
analyze in Phase 2, provides important insight into the
supply chain’s key players. However, given the
constantly evolving nature of supply chains, the goal is
to develop a strategic understanding of the
local/regional demand and supply network to identify
key supply chain players with whom to engage. A
detailed and comprehensive understanding of the
global supply chain is not necessary.
To complete this phase, emergency managers should:
• Identify the primary crucial suppliers for the local community. Emergency managers may
use a variety of sources for this step, such as online searches, local community knowledge,
and local economic reports. Strategic plans, Emergency Operations Plans, or other plans and
policy documents are also good sources, as they may identify response operational priorities
or previously identified supply nodes.
• Identify supply chain nodes within the scope of the review. Supply chains are global, so
defining a geographic boundary when reviewing
each supply chain helps scope the analysis into a
manageable size. Boundaries to consider include
the state, a region, and/or focusing mainly on “last
mile” delivery. It is not practical or necessary to
identify all nodes within a supply chain; focus on
identifying nodes that serve a large proportion of
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The NBEOC can assist with establishing data-sharing agreements to support this effort.
Many resources are available to
support emergency managers with
Research and Mapping (Phase 1) and
Analysis (Phase 2). Examples include:
DHS Infrastructure Protection (IP)
partners in the FEMA Regions
Private sector contractors
The Regional Resiliency
Assessment Program (RRAP)
(https://www.dhs.gov/regional-
resiliency-assessment-program)
FEMA’s Planning Technical
Assistance Program
(https://www.fema.gov/fema-
technical-assistance-program).
Last mile is the movement of products
along the final stretch of the supply
chain to deliver products to their final
destination, often covering the
movement of the product from the
distributor to the demand node.