Want to Impact Productivity, Sustainability and Value? Start With Supply Chain Efficiency.

The Future of Supply Chain: Trends and Challenges

Supply chains in 2024 are facing a multitude of challenges and opportunities. With a focus on achieving financial objectives and driving sustainability, supply chains are investing heavily in digital transformation to optimize productivity and leverage data. The value of supply chain is a central theme highlighted in this year's Future of Supply Chain Report. The report emphasizes the importance of defining and engineering value into business operations. Another significant theme is productivity, which differs from efficiency. Productivity growth has been stagnant in the past decade, posing a problem for CFOs and CEOs. The report emphasizes the need to amplify productivity by leveraging both tangible and intangible assets. Intangible assets, such as knowledge, information, and data, have not been effectively leveraged to boost productivity. The report suggests that utilizing these intangible assets can amplify the impact of physical assets and improve overall productivity. People and technology are key levers for achieving productivity gains. Investing in human capital through management systems and learning and development programs is essential. Simultaneously, technology plays a crucial role in enhancing productivity by providing insights, enabling better decision-making, and connecting various elements of the supply chain. However, challenges remain. Labor scarcity and inadequately adopted technologies are among the key obstacles faced by supply chain leaders. Overcoming these challenges requires investing in teams dedicated to driving digital transformation. Organizations need to focus on change management, learning and development, and effective measurement to ensure successful technology adoption and productivity enhancements.