Executives see a large gap between the current state of Digital Transformation across their extended global value chains and what they expect to see in just 5 years from now. Those are the results of a global research study conducted by Capgemini Consulting and GT Nexus.
The study surveyed over 300 executives from some of the largest global manufacturing and retail organizations across North America and Europe, and found that:
  • Only 15% have access to data from their extended supply chains, and just 23% of those that have access, actually analyze that data for decision making purposes.
  • Almost 50% of respondents admit that right now “traditional” methods such as phone, fax, email are still the dominant ways to interact with supply chain partners.
  • Only 23% say that the majority of data from the extended supply chain is analyzed and used for decision making, but in five years, that number is expected to jump to 68%.
If Digital Transformation is only applied to one single organization within a network, it will fall short, the study concludes. “Successful transformation instead needs to adopt a holistic view of the entire ecosystem of partners, from raw material providers, manufacturing partners and suppliers, logistics and transportation providers to retail and distribution channels,” the report states.
Other findings of the research study include:
Digital Transformation Status
  •  75% of respondents say that digital transformation of the supply chain is “important or very important”
  • 50% say that Digital Transformation is “very important”
  • 33% of respondents said they are “dissatisfied” with progress so far
  • Only 5% are “very satisfied”
The follow are seen as the biggest technology enablers of Digital Supply Chain Transformation.
  • Supply Chain Visibility Platforms/Tools (94%)
  • Big Data Analytics (90%)
  • Simulation Tools (81%)
  • Cloud (80%)
Dramatic changes are expected within just 5 years.
  • Today only 15% of respondents say that the majority of data from the extended supply chain is accessible to their organization. In 5 years, that number jumps to 54%.
  • Today only 23% of respondents say that the majority of data from the extended supply chain is analyzed and used for decision making. In 5 years, that number jumps to 68%.
  • In 5 years from now, 95% of respondents expect more processes with suppliers to be automated.
  • In 5 years from now, 94% expect to receive more real-time status updates from across the entire supply chain.