In addition, the study, which polled the views of more than 1,800 supply chain professionals found that nearly two-thirds (65%) of companies believe their supply chain planning capabilities are a source of competitive differentiation today. However, nearly a third (30%) of companies in EMEA today feel that their supply chain is either just on par with others, or at a competitive disadvantage.
It is clear that transforming supply chains into a competitive differentiator is not smooth sailing, with security concerns (35%) being the biggest barrier to digital transformation efforts, followed by legacy systems (33%) and technology expertise (31%).
John Sicard, CEO of Kinaxis said: “We are starting to see the use of modern digital technologies really driving supply chain transformation but there is still much work to do. Companies whose supply chains are less mature are falling behind in terms of being able to act on real-time insights and make use of accurate data to keep themselves ahead of the pack. It’s also evident that those that have a competitive advantage at the moment will need to continually invest in technology to maintain this advantage over the coming years.”
The research also discovered that 35% of organisations plan to invest in the application of AI and machine learning but have not yet surpassed the use case or roadmap planning stage. More than 60% are starting to or are using these technologies today.
Sicard added: “It’s imperative that companies prepare their supply chains today, and lean into digital transformation to improve all business operations, including integrated business and supply chain planning. The impact of technology on the supply chain, and its implications for planning transformation specifically, leads to supply chain resiliency and agility allowing companies to be better prepared to respond to and navigate business disruptions.”
