Answers:

Hedging in this context means protecting the existing or expanding supply chain position. Hedging caters to risk scenarios related to high price fluctuations. Hedging helps the purchasing department in transferring and managing risks. Using hedging strategies, a company can design supply chain in a way that any loss incurred in one part of the supply chain can be offset by the gains obtained in another part. A company which has adopted this strategy is Volkswagen. Volkswagen has its operating plants spread over a wide geographical area.