TAKEAWAYS Shaping the Future of the Global Supply Chain
MANY SUPPLY CHAINS STILL IN THE DARK Although technology innovations help shed light on additional insights into supply chains, some knowledge gaps remain. Up to 80% of executives responding to Verusen’s 2022 State of Supply Chain Management report say they can’t digitally track the movement of direct and indirect materials across their enterprise, which suggests that many companies may lack the technology resources needed to meet supply chain management goals. Respondents note that reducing materials supply chain risk and avoiding delays and outages are top priorities in 2023. Other key takeaways include: ● 76% of respondents say disparate silos of materials data and lack of knowledge are hurdles to e cient material management. ● 43% report that a lack of visibility into inventory availability hinders sharing critical materials. ● 50%+ avoid production outages by expediting spare parts weekly and monthly. “Poor data quality, outdated technology, and disparate data silos are the top causes for ine ciency in supply chain executives’ materials management process,” says Paul Noble, founder and CEO of Verusen. “Executives are constantly faced with indecision due to a lack of visibility into inventory availability, which leads them to make hasty decisions around direct and indirect materials data. “This need not be the case, however, especially with AI tools that can accurately generate guidance for actionable decisions across an enterprise supply network,” he says.
Reviewing 2022 Shipping Challenges
How did shippers respond to challenges in 2022 and how do they plan to respond in 2023? That’s what Averitt’s eighth annual State of the North American Supply Chain Survey set out to discover. The survey asked 1,800 shippers about supply chain challenges in 2022 and measures their interest in various supply chain services moving forward. Results show a mix of outcomes when compared to 2021. ● 22% of respondents say they struggled with capacity challenges in 2022; down from 37% who reported issues in 2021. ● 39% experienced zero challenges with truckload capacity in 2022, compared with 28% in 2021. ● 33% encountered issues with on-time delivery performance in 2022 while 44% faced on-time delivery challenges in 2021. Respondents seem more tempered in their expectations for 2023 when compared to the previous year’s survey: ● 63% anticipate increased shipping volumes, which is nearly 14% lower than what was expected for 2022. ● 23% plan to use air services in 2023—down from 32%. ● 17% anticipate using rail services in 2023—down from 26%.
34 Inbound Logistics • January 2023
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