Disruption and data are shaping modern supply chain ecosystems

Organizations need intelligent, connected supply chain solutions built on data that can integrate a business, its supply chain operations, and its network of ecosystem partners to drive continuous growth and innovation.

In the last blog in this series, we discussed how organizations are connecting their supply chains  through building ecosystems that forge stronger, end-to-end levels of resilience across the entire supply chain network.

In this blog, we’ll look at the role disruption and data plays in driving supply chain transformation and the need for increased supply chain collaboration.

Disruption is driving supply chain transformation

Supply chains are going through an era of routine disruption, and supply chain vulnerability is in the spotlight. Companies are re-thinking their supply chain practices and the way they organize their business operations. This is also amplified by an increase in sustainability regulations and initiatives.

Additionally, ongoing shortages in the labor market are causing slowdowns across the logistics industry. From warehouses to harbors, the worlds of freight and shipping are seeing increased costs and frequent disruption. This is only amplified with evolving geopolitical challenges that are directly impacting global logistics. 

As companies continue to work on mitigating the impact of these disruptions, they continue to face significant delays and slowdowns due to their own reliance on legacy technologies, siloed operating models, and a lack of access to data.

The challenge of legacy processes and leveraging data

In the last few years, modern supply chain complexities, coupled with market volatility has prompted many companies to be more reactive rather than proactive, leaving them vulnerable to disruptions, as legacy systems hinder continuous innovation.

Legacy, manual technologies and processes consume valuable time and risk leaving organizations behind market trends and competitors. These can only delay response times when reacting to sudden supply chain disruption, and in today’s volatile world, agility is more important than ever.

Procurement strategies are also made more complex, with organizations needing to leverage a huge amount of data. As supply chain resiliency requires a shift in procurement, accessible, centralized data insights are pivotal when determining how to best implement a successful strategy. More than ever procurement needs to synchronize category purchasing to avoid conflicting objectives, such as cost vs reliability vs. resilience.

Other processes, such as forecasting, are also hindered by the lack of clear data. What’s more, they are increasingly challenged to upgrade and connect data and may lack the right strategic transformation roadmap to do this. For supply chains, this is a compounded issue, as enterprises need to be able to adapt to not only global trends, but also local conditions.

To overcome these challenges, organizations need to consider ways in which they can build more autonomous, intelligent, and data-driven supply chain solutions. The need for an intelligent and connected supply chain ecosystem model that integrates a business, its supply chain operations, and its network of ecosystem partners is vital for future, continuous growth.

Pooling resources and expertise to drive supply chain resilience

Capgemini and Kuehne+Nagel’s unique business ecosystem partnership delivers an innovative supply chain orchestration capability that drives resilient, efficient, and sustainable supply chain operations.

This one-stop solution helps to drive new and improved performance levels across your end-to-end supply chain through seamlessly integrating your planning and logistics management to reduce accountability, data, and intelligence mismatches.

In the next blog in this series, we will discuss how supply chain organizations can leverage Capgemini’s unique Connected Enterprise approach to build the resilient supply chain ecosystem  they want.

To discover how Capgemini’s unique partnership with Kuehne+Nagel can help your organization drive improved, end-to-end performance levels across your supply chain, contact: joerg.junghanns@capgemini.com