Technology vital for growth amid global supply chain challenges: Descartes study

A new study by Descartes Systems Group reveals that 74 per cent of supply chain and logistics leaders see technology as fundamental or highly important to their organization’s growth strategy. This increases to 88 per cent among companies projecting growth of more than 15 per cent over the next two years.

The report, titled What Companies are Doing to Tackle Escalating Global Supply Chain Challenges, highlights global trade intelligence as the most critical capability for enabling growth and gaining a competitive edge, with 36 per cent of respondents identifying it as a top priority. Other key capabilities include global trade analytics (27 per cent) and supply chain mapping (26 per cent).

“For companies in diverse industries, global trade has become much more complex, with many new challenges to traditional business operations,” said Jackson Wood, director of industry strategy at Descartes. “As businesses contend with tariffs and trade barriers, geopolitical instability, supply chain disruptions and compliance requirements, technology tools can help them build greater agility and resilience into their supply chains to compete more effectively.”

Descartes partnered with SAPIO Research to survey 978 supply chain intelligence leaders from North and South America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The study aimed to explore how strategies, tactics and technologies vary across industries, regions and growth trajectories.

Industries such as manufacturing (40 per cent), wholesale and distribution (44 per cent), finance and insurance (38 per cent) and retail (30 per cent) all ranked global trade intelligence as the top technology capability for the next two years.

Visit here to access the full report.