FourKites report suggests supply chain data not being used effectively
07 / 11 / 2023
Image Source: FourKites
Supply chain visibility platform provider FourKites has released a report entitled ‘Data-Driven Decisions: Why Many Supply Chains Are Falling Behind’ that suggests fewer than half of US/UK supply chain leaders are leveraging their supply chain data to inform their strategy and 14% aren’t using supply chain data at all to make decisions.
This is despite supply chain leaders citing the need to reduce costs, improve the customer experience and expedite delivery times as their top three challenges.
Those statistics come from a poll of 250 UK and 250 US supply chain leaders across various industries to gain an insight into how they’re digitising their supply chains and mitigating risk.
FourKites partnered with international research data and analytics group YouGov to conduct the poll.
61% of UK respondents recognise the importance of connecting disparate supply chain data, compared to 82% of US respondents, while 30% of UK respondents plan to invest in technology to de-risk their supply chain over the next six to 12 months, compared to 54% of respondents in the US.
The survey suggests that supply chain leaders are struggling to pinpoint the information they need to make the data-driven decisions that will help them meet their strategic objectives. Specifically, 62% of UK respondents say their supply chain digitisation is sub-par, whereas 34% of American respondents said the same.
FourKites chief strategy officer Fabrizio Brasca observed: “Two-thirds of responding companies are using supply chain data only for simple, day-to-day tasks – many have yet to realise the opportunity to look at their supply chain end-to-end to make informed, strategic decisions.
“At the root of this issue is the ongoing struggle to fully digitise the supply chain and have a single source of data,” he went on.
“For instance, with a real-time view of inventory levels across facilities, supply chain leaders can proactively mitigate the risk of stockouts and prevent orders from being cut, leading to a better end-customer experience.”
