Supply Chain Technology in 2023 – SCM and procurement experts have had to manage their companies through numerous disruptions over the past few years. Despite their best efforts, market dynamics and current events eventually caught up with them, creating problems with managing their suppliers and locating the resources required for their products.
The past few years have, at the very least, made the value of strategic sourcing clear. The potential of supply chain and procurement processes to source successfully was, however, constrained by a number of issues:
- 1) Lack of access to important information, including supplier risk and performance, forward price, market index effects, demand swings, supply that is on hand, and supply limits.
- 2) Poor enterprise-wide collaboration and communication about sourcing activities Complexity of the manufacturing process, including the sourcing of complicated parts and part relationships
- 3) Due to market shifts, supply shortages, and other supply-related problems, there is a need to find new sources of supply fast.
- 4) Managing and fulfilling compliance, sustainability, and other goals and criteria can be difficult.
- 5) Assessing and reducing the risk related to the supply, the suppliers, and the networks of the supply chain
These issues were exacerbated in 2022 by a spike in demand despite record-high prices, the Russia-Ukraine war, and other interruptions, which caused a demand and supply imbalance to affect many businesses.
Inflation reached multi-decade highs in the last two years. Over the coming year, inflation may ease somewhat, but it will probably stay high. Inflation is predicted to climb 6.5% globally, down from 8.8% in 2022; in the US and the euro area, it is predicted to reach 3.5% and 5.7%, respectively, down from 8% and 8.3%.
As a result, every component of items already on the market has increased in price, creating severe cost pressure and underscoring the significance of strategic sourcing.
In 2023, all significant economies face the possibility of an economic slump. Banks and governments raised interest rates to combat the recent intense inflationary pressures, making borrowing significantly more expensive. Since GDP growth in advanced economies is only forecast to climb by 1.1%, these rate rises may come at the expense of sluggish demand.
In order to inject at least some predictability into future sourcing and enable better decision-making, Supply Chain Technology in 2023, business must have a plan in place to manage sourcing events. This strategy must include more visibility as well as forecasting and supplier evaluation capabilities.