Learn 3 secrets to building supply chain agility without breaking the bank
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Lessons in Supply
Chain Agility from Leading CSCOs
More frequent, unpredictable and high-impact disruption means that supply chain efficiency is no longer enough.
Instead of running “just-in-time” lean operations, leading Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) are designing the supply chain network for “just-in-case” supply chain agility.
Supply chain agility enables a CSCO to turn a supply chain crisis into a legacy-defining moment that secures the future supply chain for the business.
How do leading CSCOs build supply chain agility while minimizing financial impacts?
View the infographic to learn 3 secrets of leading CSCOs who develop the supply chain agility needed to thrive amid disruption.
- A new playbook for hiring, developing and managing supply chain talent
- Scenario planning guidance for the supply chain team
- How to protect strategic innovation spend from budget cuts
About building supply chain agility
To be successful today, CSCOs must prioritize agility, but more than 30% discourage supply chain agility investment because they worry it will increase supply chain costs. Another 58% of CSCOs believe that investing in supply chain resilience yields additional structural cost to the supply chain network.
Supply chain disruption is inevitable. CSCOs must take action to mitigate the cost, efficiency, and quality impacts by building agility and resiliency. Gartner provides the insights and guidance that CSCOs need to manage supply chain disruptions like material and capacity shortages, price inflation, and recession risk. We focus on proven practices for identifying potential supply chain risks, collaborating with cross-functional teams on coordinated response, and communicating a resolution with customers and partners.
Supply Chain Agility FAQs
What is supply chain agility?
Supply chain agility is the ability to sense and respond to unanticipated changes in demand or supply, quickly and reliably, without sacrificing cost or quality.
How do you measure supply chain agility?
Agility is an attribute of the supply chain. It is not a business outcome. As such, it cannot be measured, per se. What companies can measure is the impact of agility on the business performance. Determining the appropriate level of agility requires monitoring the supply chain performance over time across the four success factors of speed, reliability and quality of service, and cost.
How does supply chain agility impact the business?
There are four metrics mostly impacted by supply chain agility:
- Order Fulfillment Cycle Time
- Upside Supply Chain Flexibility
- Perfect Order Fulfillment
- Total Cost to Serve
These metrics are among the most commonly used across the majority of supply chains. Focusing on these metrics is a practical and logical starting point to measuring agility impact.