The majority of the companies surveyed currently see the topics of sustainability and digitalization as key trends in supply chain management. At 78 percent, the majority of participants agree that digital technologies have a significant influence on the resilience of the supply chain and make a decisive contribution to being able to successfully overcome future crises. In medium-sized companies with 50 to 250 employees, as many as 83 percent share this assessment.

Taking ecological responsibility

For three quarters of respondents, it is extremely important that companies assume ecological responsibility. This assessment grows with company size: for companies with 250 to 1,000 employees, almost nine out of ten respondents (87 percent) confirm that compliance with the Supply Chain Act and other legal guidelines, as well as reducing CO2 emissions in the supply chain, are currently a focus. "Sustainability is one of the top issues of our time. The successful reduction of the CO2 footprint and corresponding climate protection measures require a rethink and modification of previous work processes," says Moritz Gborglah, Division Manager and digital transformation expert at Hermes International, classifying the survey results.

Collaboration and risk management to strengthen the supply chain

The respondents rated collaborative cooperation along the supply chain as a further trend in supply chain management. Among companies with 250 to 1,000 employees, 75 percent, or three quarters of logistics managers, have already recognized the potential of cross-company networking.
But the more complex and global supply chains become, the more diverse the risks they are exposed to. Efficient risk management for identifying, eliminating and preventing disruptions in the supply chain is therefore seen by 82 percent of larger companies with 250 to 1,000 employees as the second most important trend in supply chain management.

Establishing stable supplier relationships important for companies

In order to increase the resilience of the supply chain in the long term, the respondents see the establishment of stable supplier relationships as a particularly suitable measure: Eight out of ten of the survey participants (81 percent) across all company sizes consider collaborative partnerships within the supply chain to be very important. "Companies are increasingly aware of the positive impact of collaborative working and are therefore consciously focusing on cooperation with partners and suppliers," confirms Moritz Gborglah. "In this way, they can proactively counteract potential risks and increase the efficiency of procurement processes."
Importance of transparency and platform solutions not yet sufficiently recognized
Risk management, sustainability control and partnership-based collaboration benefit from detailed insights and analyses of process data across the entire supply chain - a detailed data overview is the basis for sound decisions and optimized work processes. However, companies have so far been rather hesitant in their approach to this topic: Only about one in two respondents (54 percent) sees transparency as a significant tool for strengthening the supply chain.
There is also still potential for development in the increased use of platform solutions: Collaboration is indeed seen as a central trend in supply chain management. But only half of all participants surveyed consider the use of collaborative solutions to be a suitable measure for increasing supply chain resilience.

Digitization as a strategic orientation of companies

Digitized data and information management along the supply chain is the basis for sound decision-making and risk prevention. Companies are therefore well advised to continue to focus their strategic orientation on the optimization potential of data transparency and data analysis. "Especially for collaborative partnerships, the constant and transparent exchange of data within the supply chain pays off. Through digital networking, companies are able to bring together real-time information, better manage resources and optimize processes," says Moritz Gborglah. (sas)

This article was originally posted by: Beschaffung Aktuell