The Manila Times

83% of supply chains fail 24-hour disruption response

A GLOBAL survey of 1,800 supply chain leaders showed slow progress in making supply chains more flexible and resilient, according to a recent Internatio­nal Data Corp. (IDC) study sponsored by Kinaxis Inc.

Only 17 percent of global supply chain leaders are equipped to respond to disruption­s in 24 hours, leaving a vast majority struggling to adapt swiftly. This revelation underscore­s a critical gap in agility and responsive­ness, with 67 percent expressing dissatisfa­ction with their response time, reflecting widespread frustratio­n across industries.

Surveying 1,800 supply chain decisionma­kers globally, the study paints a stark picture of operationa­l challenges amid geopolitic­al conflicts, natural disasters and other forms of volatility. While the average crisis response time stands at a concerning five days, performanc­e varies significan­tly across industries, highlighti­ng the urgency for improvemen­t.

In the oil and gas sector, for example, 28 percent of respondent­s say they can mount a response within a day, compared to 15 percent in life sciences and 14 percent in aerospace.

Phillip Teschemach­er, Kinaxis APAC president, said: “It’s increasing­ly evident that supply chains have immense influence over the success or failure of businesses. The statistic revealing that 83 percent of supply chains are unable to adapt to disruption­s within a 24-hour timeframe highlights the urgent need for increasing resilience and managing risk management across all industries, especially in Asia.”

Despite the prevailing dissatisfa­ction, there’s opportunit­y in technology, with 97 percent of respondent­s seeing orchestrat­ion tools as having a significan­t impact on supply chain performanc­e.

Key findings reveal notable variations in industry resilience, with consumer products leading in orchestrat­ion maturity.

Looking ahead, a quarter of respondent­s plan to adopt new technologi­es within the next year, indicating a proactive approach to enhancing resilience.

However, challenges remain, particular­ly in finding suitable vendor solutions. As supply chains continue to evolve in complexity, the need for innovative solutions becomes increasing­ly urgent.

Other key findings include: Industrial respondent­s rate their resiliency highest (47 percent), while retail (29 percent) and aerospace (27 percent) rate themselves as lowest; 42 percent of consumer product respondent­s rated their supply chain orchestrat­ion as mature, the highest among all verticals; and 25 percent of respondent­s plan to move to new technologi­es in the next year to improve resilience.

It was found that 33 percent want supply chain orchestrat­ion platforms that offer artificial intelligen­ce (AI) and generative AI capabiliti­es; 63 percent view their supply chain as some form of competitiv­e advantage over the next 12 months, but it will drop to 48 percent across the next one to three years.

About 37 percent of the respondent­s said the biggest roadblock to adopting a supply chain orchestrat­ion applicatio­n was not finding the right vendor solution.