Supply Chain Execution Playbook 2022
Not only are supply chain challenges hammering most consumer goods companies and retailers, but the pain isn’t expected to let up any time soon. As disruption reverberates across the industry, the fact that countless CGs remain in crisis mode has many wondering just how the holiday season will shake out.
Learn projections for supply chain execution in 2022, including what steps CGs can take to mitigate some of the disruption and complexity, the tech investments they’re expected to make, and just how today’s “hybrid operation model” will fare in the near and long term.
Ken Spigarelli, managing director of supply chain and operations advisory at KPMG, shared recent research that found retailers are expecting strong sales this holiday season versus last year. While at first blush it sounds like great news, the firm also found 82% of executives describing themselves as either somewhat or very concerned about inventory shortages.
While holiday projections have sellers cautiously optimistic, he said, much remains up in the air, noting: “It's what the consumer does — not what they say they will do — that's really going to drive the outcome this holiday season.”
The pandemic-prompted rapid digital acceleration has translated to immense operational challenges — almost on a daily basis — with no shortage of supply chain disruptors continuing to cascade across the entire value chain: product and labor shortages, port and rail congestion, and factory shutdowns — not to mention the ongoing health concern.
All of this is placing tremendous pressure on both consumer goods brands and retailers to anticipate consumer demand to better drive inventory across the enterprise, and as pantry-loading behavior picks up once again, the need for continuous collaboration with retail partners is paramount, as is maintaining flexibility and being pivot-ready.
Today’s consumer goods companies would be wise to remain laser-focused on supply continuity, as it’s an early identifier of potential demand and supply imbalances, as well as methods to reduce information latency. It’s also become increasingly important to identify the correlation between accurate demand signals and cost across the supply chain. CGs must look at the whole process from statistical forecasting, through collaborating both internally and externally, with key stakeholders to form a final and fact-based demand plan.
Watch the full video to learn more projections and strategies for supply chain execution, including the steps consumer goods companies can take to improve end-to-end visibility — and the role that data sharing will play.
