Supply Chain Resilience: Evidence from Indian Firms (Revised October 2026)

We characterize what features make supply chains more resilient. Using new data on the universe of firm-to-firm transactions from an Indian state, we identify firms with larger supplier exposure to the Covid-19 lockdowns. We construct a firm-specific measure of upstream shock exposure based on a firm's pre-period purchases from impacted suppliers. Using an event-study design and controlling for downstream and direct shock exposure, we find firms with suppliers in strict-lockdown districts experienced higher separation rates and larger declines in real inputs and sales. We study which characteristics increase supply-chain resilience. For a one standard deviation increase in upstream exposure, firms that source more complex inputs or buy inputs with fewer available suppliers in the market, are less likely to break supplier links. These firms face lower production disruptions than similarly exposed firms in the same industry and region. We then examine post-shock adjustments in supplier composition, and find that firms with greater initial supplier exposure subsequently form new links with larger and better-connected suppliers.