Companies are squandering potential of their own supply chain data, FourKites survey says

Corporate supply chains in 2023 are awash in data generated by early waves of the digitization trend, but few companies are using that information to guide their strategic decisions and reach their business goals, according to a survey from supply chain visibility provider FourKites and the research data and analytics group YouGov.

Supply chain leaders cite their top-three challenges as the need to reduce costs, improve the customer experience, and expedite delivery times. But fewer than half are leveraging their supply chain data to inform their strategy and 14% aren’t using supply chain data at all to make decisions, according to the report, “Data-Driven Decisions: Why Many Supply Chains Are Falling Behind.”

A major reason for that shortfall is that 48% of respondents say their supply chain digitization is sub-par, and 43% say they have no single source of truth for their data, the survey showed. However, those same companies are working towards change: most respondents (72%) recognize the importance of connecting disparate supply chain data, and nearly half (42%) plan to invest in technology to de-risk their supply chains over the next six to 12 months.

Investments are even more pronounced among enterprise companies, where 70% plan to increase tech investment in that category. And nearly 52% of all companies are diversifying their supplier/provider base in their efforts to de-risk their supply chains

“Two-thirds of responding companies are using supply chain data only for simple, day-to-day tasks — many have yet to realize the opportunity to look at their supply chain end-to-end to make informed, strategic decisions,” FourKites Chief Strategy Officer Fabrizio Brasca said in a release. “At the root of this issue is the ongoing struggle to fully digitize the supply chain and have a single source of data. For instance, with a real-time view of inventory levels across facilities, supply chain leaders can proactively mitigate the risk of stockouts and prevent orders from being cut, leading to a better end-customer experience.”