When disruption is constant, an organization’s preparation for key supply chain trends can be a significant competitive advantage.
With constant disruption, preparing for supply chain trends can be a significant advantage
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- The supply chain trends shaking up 2023
Disruptions to supply chain operations are set to stay in 2023, whether they be existing or new geopolitical conflicts, inflationary pressures and the recessionary environment, climate change weather events, or other issues yet to emerge. They can all impact access to goods and how they flow to their final destination, create port holdups, reduce container and ocean freight availability, and surge prices, among other concerns.
In 2023, amid these disruptions, there will likely be some key supply chain trends to manage. Managing your organization’s response to these can be a critical opportunity in the year ahead. At KPMG, from within our Global Operations Centre of Excellence, we firmly believe that: nations will be skeptical about cross-border trade cooperation; cyber criminals will ramp up activity; there will be key material access turmoil; manufacturing footprints will change shape; retail and distribution supply chains are morphing rapidly; supply chain technology investments will accelerate; and on the ESG front, scope 3 emissions will be scrutinized – notably, by investors and regulators in addition to the environmentally conscious consumer.
To help set yourself up for success in dealing with these supply chain trends in 2023, there are three overarching things you should have in place. These are:
Capability: A mature supply chain planning capability to always be a step ahead and ready to tackle supply chain risks and opportunities
Agility: Making sure your supply chain is responsive and agile to manage the unexpected, and to deal with these threats and disruptions appropriately, efficiently and profitably
End-to-end forward-looking visibility: Having ‘control tower’ visibility on key real-time indicators; being able to maneuver your supply chain beyond your own business borders; and building real-time collaboration with your ecosystem of supply chain partners will likely be critical – all done using digital capabilities. The ultimate goal is to enhance collaboration across the supply chain eco-system.
With these three factors in place, you should be set up to turn the challenges of 2023 into a competitive advantage.
Here are the supply chain trends to watch for and what to do about them:
Nations skeptical about cooperation
Geopolitical tensions have seen nations turn inward and become skeptical about cooperation and interdependence. When it comes to the supply chain, this caution is fair, as if tensions escalate, essential materials may be inaccessible, or major trade routes could be shut down. Therefore, governments and industry leaders are exploring domestic self-sufficiency in material supply and manufacturing. Short of this, they are looking to build ‘friend shoring’ relationships – trade links with like-minded and most likely geographically close countries (‘nearshoring’) where the supply of goods will likely be more secure.
More than 6 out of 10 global organizations expect that geopolitical instability may have a detrimental impact on their supply chains in the next 3 years.1
To protect against geopolitical tensions, some critical steps to initiate during 2023 include:
Model scenarios to understand the impact geopolitical tensions will have on your supply chain. Consider how you can leverage friendshoring or nearshoring to create a more secure supply network. Be clear on what will happen if you can’t access a key material or component. Will you need to reformulate a product? What will this mean in terms of regulatory and/or customer approval and are there cost impacts to sourcing from new suppliers or markets? Recognize the impact that friendshoring or nearshoring will have on your lead times and speed to market. Can you become more responsive, agile, and reduce your working capital?
Almost half of global organizations consider cyber security as an important operational challenge for their supply chains through the next 3 years1
Cyber criminals ramping up
In 2023, cyber criminals will likely be even more sophisticated when it comes to infiltrating supply chains to damage or steal from businesses. The supply chain can offer vulnerabilities that provide external parties with a pathway to get into your systems, particularly via your supplier network. Criminals could also hack in through basic warehouse equipment such as a barcode reader or via Internet of Things (IoT) devices applied within your manufacturing and other operational sites. Cyber risk will likely be compounded if you rethink your supplier networks and make changes to friendshore/nearshore, or invest in new technologies.
Some critical actions to initiate during 2023 to mitigate cyber risk include:
Recognize that your cybersecurity strategies often stop at the borders of your own enterprise. Therefore, identify the strategies that you and your partners must enact to mitigate cyber risk in your supply chain. How can you help ensure that those strategies are robust and provide sufficient risk governance across your third-party contracts? Ensure new third parties brought into your supply chain ecosystem undergo thorough cyber risk assessments. Consider funding and implementing artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) as part of the standard onboarding process of new suppliers to identify threats such as spam and phishing emails. Human error is a key cyber security risk. Conduct a cyber assessment for all of the functions/activities within the supply chain using IoT devices (storing data, managing inventory, tracking goods), especially those with direct access to sensitive information and/or provide a gateway to wider system access.
Material access in turmoil
In the year ahead, a second wave of unplanned supply chain risks will likely be realized. Organizations may experience limited access to critical inputs for manufacturing, or even spare parts and critical maintenance items. In an aligned challenge, key commodity prices and availability may fluctuate – whether that be fuel/diesel, construction items like timber, steel and resin, or plastic for packaging. Building resilient supply chains to combat future disruptions and adapt to new changes quickly will be key to help navigate these risks.
71% of global companies highlight raw material costs as their number one supply chain threat for 2023.
During 2023, other key steps to protect against material access issues include:
Protect your core offer and mitigate risk by removing critical time spent managing low-demand items. Resolve redundancy in your supply chain by shifting from Just-In-Time to Just-In-Case, holding extra inventory for critical items, maintaining low-capacity utilization, and engaging with multiple suppliers.
Don’t just say you’ll find alternative suppliers in a disruption, but have clear plans for who those suppliers are, and what impact any changes will have on your costs and operations.
Adopt real-time data analytics to enhance accuracy of predictions/forecasts of demand volatility and stream these insights into your Sales & Operations execution framework.
Leverage technologies such as Blockchain for greater product transparency, to prevent counterfeit products, to minimize discrepancies, and automate workflow through smart contracts.
Two thirds of global business leaders emphasized the need to increase visibility into their supply chains in order to maintain operational stability going forward1, so prioritize your supply chain resilience with true end-to-end visibility and transparency across the supply modes of transport, nodes and links.
More than 7 out of 10 companies that announced a shift of their manufacturing locations between 2018-2023 moved operations into Asia.2
Manufacturing footprint changing shape
While accessing critical materials in 2023 may be challenging, so too will be manufacturing for many of the same reasons including the rapid rise in energy costs and price surge of key inputs. Therefore, global corporations with manufacturing operations will be re-evaluating their manufacturing footprint. Friendshoring and nearshoring will again be considered, however, there may be deeper thinking around whether manufacturing needs to be – and can be – done entirely onshore. This shift can’t happen overnight, but wheels will be put in motion.
Another factor in 2023 will likely be the increased impact of online retail on product manufacturing. Often, online platforms want to differentiate their offer, whether that be the size of products, minor ingredient changes, or even the style of packaging. This means organizations will seek out manufacturers that can provide more customization. Similarly, in life sciences, precision medicine will become more accepted by regulators, healthcare practitioners and patients. Therefore, rather than manufacturing millions of units for each vaccine/drug and moving these products across the globe, corporations may seek to manufacturer specific products per patient. This manufacturing change will significantly transform the future manufacturing footprint and how supply chains operate. As a result, a key question is whether organizations should establish new supply chains or simply divert production to other markets with existing capacity.
Other key considerations during 2023 include:
Consider the future of your manufacturing site location and how any shifts may help the competitiveness of your products. How can you source from multiple suppliers/manufacturers in different countries to help you protect your operations from uncertainties in key manufacturing markets? Explore opportunities to contract global organizations to manufacture on your behalf, or if manufacturing should be part of your core DNA and done onshore within the next few years. Understand if mass manufacturing may be right for your business in future, or do you need to look at customized manufacturing approaches?
Retail and distribution supply chains are morphing
While getting goods into the hands of consumers in 2023 might appear easier than in earlier COVID-19 times, it will likely not be simple nor inexpensive. There may be more consumption mechanisms and channels than ever, and costs are not showing any signs of letting up, partially due to the close link to the complex manufacturing challenge, but also to the difficulty in getting goods into the hands of a more-demanding-than-ever consumer. The prevalence of last mile delivery challenges, coupled with reliance on suppliers that are often experiencing difficulties also, means global and local retailers may need to review their inventory distribution network and create a seamless experience around a unified commerce approach.
67% of organizations consider meeting customer expectations for speed of delivery as a critical force impacting the structure and flow of their supply chains over the next 12-18 months.
Key steps to better manage retail and distribution complexities in 2023 include:
Consider the future of your distribution and micro-fulfillment center locations. Enhance and advance your e-commerce and omni-channels into true unified commerce process and technology. Review sourcing and supplier strategies to reduce risks. Implement control tower visibility in a predictive environment, leveraging AI and ML.
6 in 10 plan to invest in digital technology to bolster their supply chain processes, data synthesis and analysis capabilities.
Technology investment accelerating
Over the past year, investing in a cloud-based digital transformation strategy was a key trend, and in 2023 this trend is likely to accelerate as organizations seize technology as a strategy to mitigate their growing concerns around inflationary pressures and economic stagnation. While technology transformation often focused on the back office and better customer engagement, supply chain and operational capabilities will be front and center in 2023. Importantly, there will likely be greater investment to uplift supply chain planning maturity, automation of warehouse and operational tasks, as well as in gathering better end-to-end supply chain analytics to create enhanced visibility.
Supporting this trend is a move from some major technology suppliers towards holistic supply chain platforms. Rather than offering supply chain capabilities as discrete add-on systems, they are bringing them all together in one platform, aiming to provide a seamless user experience.
Key actions to take in 2023 include:
Prioritize technology investment in supply chain planning capabilities, and end-to-end visibility enabled by real-time analytics, as these can help you to maintain operational stability. Fast-track your data management policies and capabilities, and upskill your teams to make the most of the technology capability for insights led decision making. Consider how you can invest in automation to replace redundant manual supply chain activities, drive productivity gains, and protect against margin squeeze and cost increases. There are opportunities to streamline very manual activities such as Global Trade documentation, Free Trade Agreement (FTA) compliance, trade tax calculations, reconciliations and settlements, and reporting.
Scope 3 emissions scrutinized
Supply chain sustainability strategies have long been integral to achieving corporate ESG initiatives. In 2023, regulators and other important stakeholders (such as customers and the finance community) will likely demand a focus on scope 3 emissions control. You may be expected to make informed decisions to reduce these emissions, and ‘greenwashing’ will not pass scrutiny. Adding to the pressure will likely be a shift in investor activity towards organizations that can prove their scope 3 emissions are low. Global banking institutions, private equity and venture capitalists want to see that their portfolio is aligned to sustainable organizations.
53% of organizations plan to increase their focus on sustainable sourcing.
Priority actions for ESG improvement in 2023 include:
Operationalize your ESG strategy by aligning the objectives of each function within your business including Finance, HR, IT, Operations and Commercial. Ensure that there is internal collaboration and alignment with each function accessing and tracking the same ESG data. Capture real-time operational data along your supply chain for measurement and reporting of ESG matters. Build end-to-end visibility of the supply chain to see where your goods move, the organizations that are moving them, and their sustainability credentials. With this insight, make active decisions about your partners to reduce your scope 3 total.
In summary
Disruption to supply chains is a permanent fixture, and at KPMG we believe these supply chain trends will be integral to getting control of what's ahead in 2023. As we have seen, having sophisticated planning capabilities and agility, enabled by improved end-to-end visibility of your supply chain, will be both key to mitigating risks and areas of vulnerability, and harnessing opportunities otherwise difficult to convert to benefits. By proactively getting ahead of the these trends, you can have the capability to set yourself up for success.
Key contacts
Partner, Global Operations Center of Excellence Lead
KPMG Australia
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Head of Supply Chain, KPMG Asia Pacific, and Partner, Supply Chain and Digital Transformation
KPMG in Singapore
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Principal, Supply Chain Leader
KPMG in the U.S.
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Partner, Powered Procurement
KPMG in the UK
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Related content
1 Source: KPMG’s global supply chains trends survey of November 2022.
2 Source: Unchained Global Sourcing – charting the sourcing shift in Asia Pacific, December 2022.
FAQs
What are the supply chain trends in 2023? ›
Big data, advanced analytics and automation will be supply chain pillars. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will have a much greater impact, as processing huge datasets in real time demands these capabilities.
Will supply chain issues improve in 2023? ›In a survey conducted in May and June, most supply chain executives said they “don't expect a return to a more normal supply chain until the first half of 2024 or beyond.” Far less, 22%, say they expect a return to normal in the second half of 2023.
What are the 5 key trends in supply chain management SCM? ›New market dynamics are among five trends that IDC said will drive supply chain development over the next decade. In no particular order, they include networks and ecosystems; data analytics and automation; sustainability and the global workforce.
What shortages are coming in 2023? ›- Beef. Kryssia Campos/Getty Images. ...
- Lettuce. MERCURY studio/Shutterstock. ...
- Beer. Antonio Salaverry/Shutterstock. ...
- Champagne. Sabrewolf/Shutterstock. ...
- Oranges. Bloomberg/Getty Images. ...
- Cooking oil. Quality Stock Arts/Shutterstock. ...
- Butter. ...
- Corn.
Inflation will slow significantly in 2023, but achieving central bank targets will be a multiyear process. After reaching multidecade highs in 2022, global inflation will moderate in response to tightening financial conditions, softening demand, and easing supply chain conditions.
How serious is the supply chain crisis? ›While most consumers never had to think about supply chains, the current supply chain crunch is having an outsized impact on families across the country. American consumers have felt the consequences through inflation and higher prices, smaller quantities of available goods, and longer wait times for purchases.
What is causing supply chain issues? ›Global political unrest is the primary cause of current supply chain issues, contributing to disruptions in material availability and transport, a survey finds. The survey by software company SAP revealed 58% of US-based business leaders believe their supply chain issues primarily stem from global political unrest.
What is the top supply chain issue for the future? ›Among the most common supply chain challenges in 2021 were things like port congestion, manufacturing delays, and extreme weather events (including hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and more).
What are the 5 biggest supply chain issues? ›- Keeping transportation costs down.
- Keeping up with customer/industry demands.
- Sourcing consistent, reliable carrier capacity.
- Keeping up with the latest technology solutions and demands.
- On-time pickup and delivery performance.
Integration, operations, purchasing and distribution are the four elements of the supply chain that work together to establish a path to competition that is both cost-effective and competitive.
What are the 7 key issues of supply chain management? ›
- Quality Customer Service. The supply chain management is centralized on the needs of the customers. ...
- Costing. ...
- Risk Management. ...
- Supplier Relationship. ...
- Qualified Personnel. ...
- Unforeseen Delays. ...
- Fast-Changing Markets.
the three critical challenges facing global supply chains: labor shortages, equipment availability, and the ripple effect of global bottlenecks.
What are the top 3 causes of supply chain disruptions? ›- Pandemics. In the previous year, we've seen how the Covid-19 (novel coronavirus) epidemic wreaked havoc on global supply chains across sectors. ...
- Natural Disasters. ...
- Logistics Delays and Failures. ...
- Price Fluctuations. ...
- Cyberattacks. ...
- Product Problems.
- Unpredictable consumer spending. ...
- The just-in-time manufacturing philosophy. ...
- Labour shortages and efficiency slowdowns. ...
- Shipping delays. ...
- Shipping container shortages and higher shipping costs.
- Cereal, bread and flour.
- Lettuce.
- Champagne.
- Eggs.
- Prescription medications.
- Tomato products.
- Cement and concrete.
- Olive oil.
The WFP predicts that by 2023 there will be a shortage of wheat and corn, which are two staple products in the food supply chain. The reports also estimate that these shortages will increase global food prices and could even trigger a new global recession.
What foods are going to be in short supply? ›- Eggs.
- Tinned Fish.
- Beef.
- Champagne.
- Lettuce.
- Canned Drinks and Foods.
- Sunflower Oil and Palm Oil.
- Bread and Other Wheat Products.
The threat of a U.S. recession remains alive in 2023. The consensus estimate on the probability of a meaningful downturn in the American economy in the next 12 months is at 65%, according to Goldman Sachs Research. But our own economic analysis rates that probability much lower, at 35%.
Which sector will boom in 2023? ›Internet and Information Services is one of the best sectors to invest in heading into 2023. The global IT services market grew from $3,471.35 billion in 2021 to $3,938.75 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate of 13.5%. The market is forecasted to reach $5,905.09 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 10.7%.
Is 2023 recession coming? ›Tim Simons, a money market economist at Jefferies, thinks that 2023 will see a “classic recession.” He predicts that the downturn will begin at the corporate level in the first half of 2023, leading to reduced headcounts. By mid-2023, he predicts that economic growth will slow and inflation will begin to dissipate.
How long until supply chain issues end? ›
One in three says the issues will last until the end of summer 2023. Findings are based on a survey conducted in late August and early September 2022 of 400 U.S.-based senior decision-makers in logistics and supply chain strategy across small, medium and large businesses. Here's what they had to say.
How long will the supply chain be broken? ›The survey taken over May and June found that more than half of executives do not expect a return to a “normal” supply chain until the first half of 2024 or beyond, while 22 percent expect disruptions to continue until the second half of 2023.
Is supply chain getting worse or better? ›A recent survey from the Food Industry Association (FMI), a trade organization that represents food retailers and wholesalers, found that 70% of retailers said supply chain disruptions are negatively impacting their business, up from 42% the year before.
What is the current supply chain crisis? ›In 2021, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, global supply chains and shipments slowed, causing worldwide shortages and affecting consumer patterns.
What are the two major risks in supply chain? ›Internal risks are risks that you can control or influence. They include cost estimates, staff assignments, schedule delays, and product design. External risks are risks that you as a contract manager can't control or influence.
What are the 3 possible challenges facing supply chain in the next 5 years? ›- Material scarcity. ...
- Increasing freight prices. ...
- Difficult demand forecasting. ...
- Port congestion. ...
- Changing consumer attitudes. ...
- Digital transformation. ...
- Restructuring. ...
- Inflation.
Supply Chain and Risk Management: “3Ps” – Predictive, Proactive, Prescriptive.
What are the 3 pillars of supply chain management? ›Our three pillars (or fundamentals) of great supply chain management excellence are strategy, service, and cost.
What are the 7 R's of supply chain management? ›So, what are the 7 Rs? The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport UK (2019) defines them as: Getting the Right product, in the Right quantity, in the Right condition, at the Right place, at the Right time, to the Right customer, at the Right price.
What are the 7 supply chain functions? ›Supply Chain includes purchasing, manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, customer service, demand planning, supply planning and Supply Chain management.
What are the 5 stages of the supply chain? ›
Supply chain management has five key elements—planning, sourcing raw materials, manufacturing, delivery, and returns.
What is the most important element of supply chain management? ›“Integration is at the heart of the supply chain and is considered as the brains and heart of the supply chain process.” says Rachael. “As with any project, planning is essential to long-term success. Integration is the process of technology which closely coordinates with supply chain functions and elements.
What is the future of supply chain? ›Future supply chains will need to be much more dynamic—and be able to predict, prepare, and respond to rapidly evolving demand and a continually changing product and channel mix. In short, supply chains will need to become agile.
Will food prices continue to rise in 2023? ›Food prices are expected to grow more slowly in 2023 than in 2022 but still at above historical average rates. In 2023, all food prices are predicted to increase 7.1 percent, with a prediction interval of 4.2 to 10.1 percent.
What are the 5 biggest supply chain challenges? ›- Keeping transportation costs down.
- Keeping up with customer/industry demands.
- Sourcing consistent, reliable carrier capacity.
- Keeping up with the latest technology solutions and demands.
- On-time pickup and delivery performance.