Supply chains are increasingly global and complex, as companies aspire to support a variety of strategies, such as entering new markets, increasing speed to customers, and lowering costs. In this survey,1 we asked operations and other senior executives from around the world about their companies’ supply chain strategies, the factors that influence those strategies, and the ways their companies act on these factors. We also explored how well executives think their companies are meeting their goals, how they manage their supply chains, and the challenges involved in running a global supply chain.
The results show that supply chain risk is rising sharply. Executives point to the greater complexity of products and services, higher energy prices, and increasing financial volatility as top factors influencing their supply chain strategies. Relatively few respondents, however, say that their companies are translating the importance they place on these factors into corporate action.
Nor do executives express confidence that their companies are meeting the top strategic goals: reducing costs, improving customer service, and getting products to market faster. In addition, for all the public attention paid to environmental concerns, including global warming, executives report that such issues have little influence on supply chain strategies.
What’s more, our results suggest that most companies tend toward centralization, not local management, in running their supply chains and that this tendency has increased in recent years.
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