Global Supply Chain Survey 2013

I recently received this year’s Global Supply Chain Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). It turns out that the leaders in PwC’s survey “have supply chains that are efficient, fast and tailored – a model that lets companies serve their customers reliably in turbulent market conditions and that differentiates between the needs of different sets of customers”. The authors present six key findings: (1) Companies should view the supply chain as a strategic asset to achieve better financial results; (2) Companies should focus on three key drivers: “perfect order delivery, cost reductions and supply chain flexibility”; (3) Companies should recognize that one size does not fit all; (4) Companies should not outsource core strategic functions (i.e., strategic procurement, sales and operations planning and research and development); (5) Companies in emerging markets should introduce differentiating processes; (6) Companies are increasingly interested in next-generation technologies and sustainable supply chains. Most of these results are in line with my own observations.