The impact of covid-19 on the Moroccan supply chain

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic that spread in the year 2020 has caused considerable damage to the global economy. It has shown the impact of new health risks on the functioning of companies. No matter how resilient logistics chains are, their interconnection exposes companies and therefore the economy to serious disruptions. Since the start of the pandemic, several studies have been carried out to assess the impact of this crisis on different aspects of human life. This article is also a contribution to this effort. It seeks to provide rough orders of the magnitude of the impact of the pandemic on the functioning of Moroccan companies. Based on a sample of 196 Moroccan companies, the results showed a severe contraction in activity due to the disruption of various links in the logistics chain following the general containment of the population and the closure of borders. The study has also revealed the presence of three models of companies’ behavior in facing this shock, the strong destabilization of purchasing and distribution departments and the role of technology and digital transformation in crisis response strategies.