SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE: OVERCOMING THE OBSTACLES
U ntil recently, supply chain resilience wasn’t always top of mind for supply chain leaders. As a result, many companies failed to optimize their supply chains for resilience, choosing instead to focus on efficiency and minimizing costs. While efficiency and cost control remain critical, resilience is quickly moving up the list of priorities. Holding back the many obstacles faced by today’s supply chains is now a must-do. “As companies grapple with economic and geopolitical uncertainties
on a global scale, the imperative to construct resilient supply chains is more pronounced,” says Elizabeth McGuire, director and supply chain lead with Clarkston Consulting. To meet this goal, supply chain leaders can turn to a range of technology tools—artificial intelligence, digital twins, interconnected platforms, and mobile robots—among others. Challenges and market fluctuations have always been a constant for supply chain operations. “Geopolitical actions, regulations, and policy are always in a
state of change, while natural disasters, global conflicts, and threats from various supply chain nodes continue to ebb and flow,” says Mary Rollman, supply chain leader with KPMG. What has changed is the intensity and frequency of these challenges. As supply chains become more global, they are more likely to be impacted at a global scale when local events occur. In addition, the ecommerce boom of the past few years means many brands are competing with a seemingly limitless pool of companies. Carrying a
62 Inbound Logistics • April 2024
Powered by FlippingBook