Supply chain conditions are expected to improve in 2023 compared to 2022 and 2021, but executives in multiple industries say their companies will focus on resiliency and optimization as conditions remain fragile.
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.
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.
Analysis from Sea-Intelligence, gauging the amount of bogged-down shipping capacity, shows “all three models suggest we should be back at the 'normal' 2% capacity loss baseline by early 2023.”
Companies Are Finally Making Changes
In light of the supply chain obstacles over the past several years, companies are finally focusing on supply chain operations and increasing resiliency.
“Looking ahead, the indicator is forecast to hold at close to current levels throughout the third quarter of 2022. That would imply that overall consumer preferences for goods over services will decline but still remain slightly above summer 2020 and pre-pandemic levels.”
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.
Problems with global supply chains were supposed to be getting better by now. Instead, experts say they are getting worse.
The vision for the Supply Chain of 2030 is one of a seamless end-to-end supply chain, with visibility into planning and execution at all levels. This starts with product innovation and customer centric requirements to the upstream shipments from long tail suppliers, all the way through to customer fulfillment.
“The single biggest challenge in supply chain management for most companies is balancing cost and quality…”
The supply chain is evolving.
While there's no question that the current supply chain is being disrupted, it's clear supply chain management is not dead or dying. It's evolving, just as it has since its inception.
What's Behind the Global Supply Chain Crisis? Supply chain problems emerged during COVID-10 lockdowns due to shifts in demand, labor shortages and structural factors.
Global supply chain woes have eased ahead of the holiday season, Flexport founder and co-CEO Ryan Petersen said. Logistics challenges have seen “huge improvement,” he said, as ports are less congested and the cost of shipping goods has fallen significantly this year.
Stock up on non-perishables to ensure your household has enough essentials to last through an extended food shortage. Prepare for a food shortage by filling up your pantry space with items that have a healthy shelf life, including, canned food, rice, noodles, beans, and the like.
World population too big to feed by 2050
The world population could be too big to feed itself by 2050. By then, there will be almost 10 billion people on the planet and food demand will have increased by 70 percent compared to 2017. Scientists put the limit on how many people Earth can feed at 10 billion - max!
Skyrocketing demand, the pandemic and other factors driving current supply issues aren't expected to go away in 2022, and shortages of certain materials and products will likely continue. But as companies get better at forecasting and responding to potential disruptions, their impact could be less pronounced.
Supply chain disruptions lead to shortages of key goods, price inflation, factory closures, unloaded shipping containers and negative effects on a nation's economic wellbeing.
Supply chain crisis hits growth
China and Europe are also experiencing growth problems on the back of supply chain issues.
Circular supply chains will help turn operations into zero-waste environments. Cloud SCM solutions will continue to grow in popularity. AI, IoT and embedded analytics will grow in popularity and see massive integrations. Automation and robotics drive innovation to the forefront.
Supply chain management can be rewarding, but it isn't for everybody. SCM professionals typically work long hours under heavy stress. Problems arise quickly and unexpectedly and demand immediate solutions—think resolving a last-minute shipping issue halfway across the world in the middle of the night.