Supply Chain Strategy and Operational Resilience of Food Processing Companies in Nigeria

This research investigates the relationship between supply chain strategy and operational resilience among food processing companies in Nigeria, with cases drawn from the South West and North Central zones. The food processing industry in Nigeria is exposed to significant supply chain disruptions from agricultural seasonality, logistics failures, and macroeconomic instability. The study adopts a descriptive survey design targeting procurement directors, logistics managers, and operations officers of fifteen food processing firms in Ogun, Lagos, and Kwara states. A total of 100 respondents were selected through stratified random sampling. Structured questionnaires measuring supply chain strategy dimensions and resilience indicators were administered. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation. Findings indicate that food processing firms adopting multi-supplier sourcing strategies and maintaining strategic raw material buffer stocks demonstrate significantly higher resilience scores in the face of supply disruptions. Firms with supply chain visibility technology such as GPS-enabled logistics tracking also report fewer production stoppages due to material shortages. The study further finds that collaborative supplier development programs, where firms invest in building the capacity of key agricultural suppliers, generate more reliable and quality-consistent supply chains. The research concludes that Nigerian food processing companies must treat supply chain strategy as a core organizational resilience tool. Keywords: supply chain strategy, operational resilience, food processing, Nigeria, logistics.