Trend study: SUPPLY CHAIN DESIGN – CURRENT CHALLENGES AND DEVELOPMENTS

Which new developments are influencing the supply chain design?

On average, the vertical integration of manufacturing companies has been steadily decreasing for years. The outsourced components and production steps were often transferred to external companies in low-wage countries. This has resulted in more complex and global supply and production networks. In these networks, mutual dependencies have increased significantly. Despite the increasing interconnectedness, in some places the supply chains run via a few nodes or companies for which there is no redundancy. The current situation of the coronavirus pandemic makes it clear that the correct alignment and design of supply and production networks is a critical success factor for product availability and corporate success.

What objectives were pursued with the trend study?

By surveying participants from different industries and company sizes, the aim is to create a standardized and practical understanding of the topic of “supply chain design”. The results of the surveys will be consolidated and presented in this trend study. The content of this trend study includes the creation of a mutual understanding of supply chain design and the identification of currently relevant trends and challenges. In addition, an assessment of the degree of maturity in supply chain design is carried out, from which typical fields of action are derived. The study concludes with an overview of the methods and tools already in use today and the wishes of those responsible for the topic in order to improve supply chain design in the future.