83% of supply chains can’t respond to disruptions in 24 hours

 Just 17% of global supply chain leaders say their company can respond to disruption within 24 hours according to new IDC research commissioned by global supply chain leaders Kinaxis. The research further shows major differences between supply chain priorities in the UK and Europe, with UK supply chain professionals placing a higher emphasis on access to new markets and combatting security challenges in the wake of Brexit and ongoing issues in the Red Sea.

The comprehensive survey of 1,800 supply chain decision-makers from around the world exposes the harsh reality that most are struggling to keep their operations agile and adaptable amid an onslaught of disruptions from geopolitical conflicts, natural disasters, and other volatility, with two-thirds (67%) of respondents admitting they are not “very satisfied” with their response time.

In the UK, supply chain experts are increasingly looking to differentiate themselves as Brexit continues to expose new challenges and potential opportunities across different industries: over the next 12 months, 38% of UK respondents say they are placing an emphasis on “the ability to adopt new business models or enter new markets” (compared to a global average of 31%), whilst 29% say they will be focussed on “projects to deliver better product innovation” as they look to differentiate supply chain products in the wake of new regulatory realities (compared to just 19% globally).

Ongoing issues in the Red Sea and the war in Ukraine are also being factored into supply chain planning, with a quarter of UK supply chain professionals identifying security concerns as the main supply chain challenge of the next 12 months.

“It’s more common than ever on quarterly earnings calls to hear that supply chains make or break success and this data proves that there is a tremendous opportunity across all sectors to improve resilience and risk mitigation,” said John Sicard, president and CEO at Kinaxis. “Cutting-edge, AI-enhanced, end-to-end orchestration tools that enable companies to gain transparency, agility and improved collaboration can help address these compounding trends and make chief supply chain officers the heroes instead of the scapegoats the next time trouble appears on the horizon.”

Although respondents in all regions surveyed are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with their business’ ability to withstand and respond to supply chain shocks, they remain optimistic about technology’s potential to turn the tide, with 97% saying better orchestration tools would have a modest (44%) or significant (53%) impact on supply chain performance.

Globally, a quarter of supply chain professionals surveyed said they plan to move to new technologies within a year to improve resilience, whilst a third want supply chain orchestration platforms that offer AI/GenAI capabilities.