A joint survey of supply chain executives carried out by JDA Software and KPMG has revealed that customer expectations are driving retailer supply chain investment.
Meanwhile, agility and innovation are driving manufacturers’ investment in their supply chains.
The 2018 Digital Supply Chain Executive Survey, conducted by Incisiv, found that more than half of respondents identified the need for real-time product visibility as the leading driver in digital supply chain investment.
The survey found that both retailers (57 per cent) and manufacturers (50 per cent) include real-time product visibility as a top driver of investment. Retailers express the need for end-to-end traceability (53 per cent) with the ability to manage new fulfillment nodes (50 per cent), where manufacturers are driven by the need to innovate faster (40 per cent), with lower cost to serve (33 per cent) through improved planning.
Cognitive/predictive analytics is overwhelmingly viewed as the most disruptive technology by executives for its ability to impact all parts of the supply chain, including forecasting, fleet routing and inventory optimization.
Interesting, manufacturers view blockchain and autonomous vehicles as the most disruptive technologies, with half of the companies surveyed planning to test these in the next 24 months.
“As Amazon extends from retail into manufacturing and logistics, these industries recognize that the status quo for supply chains is no longer an option for success,” said Kevin Sterneckert, group vice president, innovation strategy and solution marketing at JDA. “The 2018 Digital Supply Chain Executive Survey outlines how retailers and manufacturers are leveraging innovative technologies and strategic alliances to improve speed to market and deliver a superior customer experience profitably.”
“Companies that offer the best customer experiences and service have raised the bar on expectations, and now many business-to-business companies are expecting the same service levels as today’s consumers,” said Brian Higgins, U.S. supply chain practice leader at KPMG. “How retailers and manufacturers are responding is a prevalent theme in our survey findings, and it should come as no surprise that companies are investing in innovative technologies to remain relevant.”
