Key Takeaways

• By applying offset strategies - changing competitive positioning by applying unconventional or untried approaches to leverage your strengths - supply chain leaders can accelerate successes that deliver a competitive advantage.

• There are five challenges that require strategies to offset accelerating change and avoid future disruptions:

  • Cognitive Overload

  • Evolving Customer Expectations

  • Technology Change

  • Supply Chain Cyber Risk

  • Energy Instability

• “A successful customer offset strategy will create opportunities to develop different sourcing priorities and policies, building new relationships and networks to deliver value.”

• “The biggest challenges facing supply chain leaders in the technology space is not necessarily the technology. It is embracing and adapting to the new technology and envisioning new ways of doing business.”

• "Supply chain leaders cannot control if theyget hit by a cyber-attack. But they can control the business decisions that dictate investments resulting in protection against cyberattacks if they see the attack coming, or know how long they are down after an attack."

Key Takeaways

• “The frequency and magnitude of disruption is increasing; global disruptions include geopolitical conflict, energy shortages and inflation. CSCOs also must account for internal disruption, including talent shortages and ongoing digital transformation.”  
  
• “68% of supply chain leaders reported they have not been prepared to respond to the constant high risk events they have endured, meaning they are in a constant state of reactivity.”
  
• “Boards of directors are intentionally increasing their risk appetite during disruptive periods. From Gartner’s 2022 View From the Board of Directors Survey, 57% of all respondents reported they are increasing their risk appetite.”

• To effectively navigate disruption, supply chains must be ahead of it. To do so, they must:

  • Understand their risk appetite & prioritize their areas of exposure Accelerate supply chain maturity to achieve ecosystem orchestration  

  • Extend their Partner Ecosystem  

    Learn more in the Gartner press release “Gartner Says Chief Supply Chain Officers Must Take Three Actions to Navigate Ongoing Macro and Micro Disruption.”
    

     

Key Takeaways

• “CEOs know the pandemic has triggered a shift in their social license to operate. At the same time, supply chain and economic disruptions continue to challenge CEOs' plans for growth.”

• “CEOs are signaling continued, increased investment in digital capabilities in their companies. Growth, the workforce, environmental sustainability and supply chain improvement are all top of mind for the leadership team - we are on a 4-year trend of increases in supply chain investments. CSCOs must be able to deliver solutions against those priorities.”

• CSCOs need to think wisely about how to manage the convergence of all the forces happening in today's operating environment. The way to do that is to focus on two key themes:

  1. “Green and Grow”: Focus digital investments in the supply chain at the intersection of sustainability and business growth. More than 70% of CEOs believe that ESG attracts customers and investors. Consider how the supply chain can support the development of new products and services that are both sustainable and can support the growth of the business. 

  2. “People and Productivity”: To address the converging forces of workforce and inflation, look for ways to improve the productivity of the supply chain. This should be done through workforce strategies like training, development, employee engagement and management of hybrid work.

Key Takeaways

• Gartner research shows that 84% of supply chain leaders state that less than 20% of their product portfolio has circular characteristics.
  

• “Create a holistic business case to secure executive buy-in to circular activities. 74% of supply chain leaders expect their enterprise profits will increase between now and 2025 from applying circular economy practices.”

• Supply chain roadmaps to scale the circular economy must have three essential ingredients: employee engagement and skills, appropriate business models, and the ability to shift from pilot to scale.
  

• “CSCOs must realign governance and decision making structures towards circular economy goals.”
  

• Meeting circular economy goals requires structural changes to the supply chain organization. 54% of supply chain leaders have integrated circular production into the standard planning process.
  

• 51% of supply chain leaders are measuring sales from circular products, and 44% are measuring the percentage of reclaimed materials and reduced raw material costs.

  More information is available in the press release “Gartner Survey Shows 74% of Supply Chain Leaders Expect Circular Economy to Increase Profits Through 2025.”