Most companies know what they pay suppliers and what they charge customers. Far fewer understand the full economic cost created between those two points. Supplier lead times, quality losses, inventory requirements, order variability, freight, service commitments, returns, working capital and supply risk can materially change the profitability of a product or customer relationship.

In the aftermath of recent global disruptions—spanning COVID-19, geopolitical conflicts and climate-related crises—ensuring resilience in supply chain and operations has become an urgent priority for C-suite executives.

Global supply chain management has been buffeted by a number of headwinds in recent years, leading to rising costs and increased competition – a trend we expect will continue going forward.

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, businesses across industries are facing significant challenges. Global disruptions, geopolitical tensions and fluctuating consumer behavior are hurting the economic recovery from the pandemic, making it imperative for companies to adapt swiftly.