Supply chain and digital supply chain management applications and services could also be losing their return on investment (ROI) luster — at the least within the eyes of top executives in a brand new survey.
Because the pandemic moves further into the rearview mirror, supply chain executives show signs of losing the strategic gains they made with their C-suite counterparts, in line with latest research from Ernst & Young LLP.
Supply chain survey results
While 88% of supply chain executives report that their organization’s supply chain plays a significant role in enhancing the shopper experience by promptly addressing and meeting customer needs, their colleagues across the C-suite overwhelmingly (88%) view the availability chain function as a value center.
Ernst & Young recently surveyed 347 U.S. supply chain executives from various industries whose firms have at the least $500 million in annual revenue.
Despite a heightened awareness of the importance of supply chains, 78% of supply chain leaders say their organization is back to specializing in supply chain cost management post-pandemic, with 28% citing cost reduction as one in all the highest three priorities currently, a shift from pandemic-era strategies.
Supply chain priority shifts because the pandemic
“The series of supply chain shocks that began with the pandemic elevated the role of supply chain leaders within the C-suite, but executive teams are increasingly reverting to outdated views of the availability chain as a value center moderately than a growth engine,” says Ashutosh Dekhne, Americas supply chain and operations practice leader at Ernst & Young. “Our research uncovered concerning perception gaps between supply chain and C-suite executives across the value of supply chain, the digital maturity of supply chains and the worth of cross-collaboration.”
Other key takeaways from the Ernst & Young survey
- Just about all (97%) supply chain leaders report facing challenges with supply chain metrics, and only 44% currently track customer satisfaction as a key performance indicator.
- Supply chain leaders are overlooking customer experience, with 84% admitting to spending more time focused on internal operations than customer needs and 76% prioritizing creating latest and revolutionary products over creating the very best customer experience.
- To reinforce supply chain resiliency, 80% of supply chain leaders are improving internal cross-functional collaboration and 79% are improving cross-functional collaboration with external vendors.
- While 87% of supply chain leaders say their organization has made significant investments to enhance supply chain resiliency, about one in five (19%) admit that today, they’re unprepared to face supply chain disruptions on account of supply shortages.
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