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Digital trends in supply chain, A survey by PWC

Updated: Apr 25, 2023





This article provides a recent survey conducted by PWC on digital trends in the supply chain industry.


Some of the key findings are that companies can leverage digital technologies to enhance value creation across their supply chain with enhanced transparency and sustainability.


Whilst many have invested in digital technologies, 80% of the respondents say the technology has not delivered the expected results. This does not come as a surprise to us, hence, we offer low technology, low-frill solutions that get the job done cost-effectively.


Whilst stretching budgets is an issue, respondents have called out that having the right skills and resources is also essential to ensure the tools are effective, furthermore, 58% of respondents call out higher than normal supply chain employee turnover. We have noticed this first hand. Technologies take at least a year to implement correctly in large businesses, by the time the technology is delivered, the employees remaining are either not skilled enough, lack the motivation to use different software to old school hacks such as excel or feel like they were sold a dream which didn't match up to their expectations. In addition, the business realizes that the processes are far behind the tools implemented, hence, the effectiveness of the tools reduce. All of this leads to further staff turnover. Hence, in our opinion, let the supply chain experts get you to your end goals.


The pandemic, geo-political issues, and inflationary headwinds have all contributed to the global supply chain risks and volatility. This has to some extent accelerated the emphasis on supply chains as a weapon of value creation in a business. A classic example is Apple's supply chain has not suffered as significantly as its competitors in the telecommunications industry, thanks to their investments across their supply chains globally that enable diversified solutions whilst ensuring they can negotiate the best deals with their suppliers/manaufacturers relative to their competitors.


PWC calls out that in digitising supply chains, companies need the most help stretching their budgets, but they struggle to have the right talent and skills. Reach out to us here for a discussion on how we can close some of the gaps highlighted in this article for your business.


You can see the rest of the article here.

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