90% of industry professionals say there is an increased need for connection and collaboration across the global supply chain, supported by the transformative power of cloud technology, to improve efficiency, ensure compliance, avoid fines, and reduce overall costs, according to research released today by Loftware. This comes at a time when executives are focused on building more resilient, transparent, and agile supply chains to navigate disruptions and shifting consumer demands.
The global survey, which draws on insights from over 400 supply chain professionals across industries in 55 countries, found that 84% of companies believe it would be beneficial to join an ecosystem where supply chain partners share access, data, and standards to improve efficiency, ensure compliance, and reduce overall costs. Additionally, nearly three-quarters of respondents said the Cloud offers a more flexible and agile framework for streamlining labeling access for trading partners, highlighting the ongoing importance of digital transformation.
“Today’s supply chains are more global and complex, while expectations from business and consumers have increased. This has led to a greater need for connection and collaboration as companies embrace digital transformation to streamline interactions and ensure compliance with suppliers, customers, and their own facilities across the enterprise,” said Josh Roffman, EVP of Marketing at Loftware.
One significant issue for today’s global supply chain lies in maintaining compliance. Customers report continued struggles with streamlining the receipt of inbound goods, resulting in mislabelling and hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. Loftware’s research illustrates the scale of this issue, with 70% of $1 billion+ companies being forced to relabel inbound goods from suppliers and partners, a resource-intensive and costly process. However, 77% of respondents said they believe providing controlled access to labelling would help to solve this issue. Leveraging a connected network that enables publishers and subscribers to gain access to standards, data, labels, and rules can ensure that inbound goods are properly labeled.
The Loftware report also revealed that an increasing number of companies are exploring new ways to guarantee their products, shipments, and data are protected as they travel through today’s global supply chain. As illustrated in Loftware’s survey, 78% of professionals said they believe artificial intelligence can be useful in analyzing data to identify counterfeit goods, while 59% say their company is currently using serialization technology to solve supply chain challenges.
Facilitating digital transparency is a vital step in creating resilient and safer supply chains, so it’s no surprise that 68% flagged cloud technology as playing a crucial role in improving track and trace across their operations. Using cloud technology, digital traceability helps companies to ensure sustainable sourcing, protect consumers, streamline the location of inventory, guarantee on-time delivery to market, and address the growing issue of counterfeiting.
Being able to trace products both upstream and downstream is also vital for managing the product lifecycle and ensuring sustainable sourcing. Digital Product Passports (DPPs) will be key to achieving this. By scanning a product’s digital passport, stakeholders can access information about its origin, ingredients, sustainability practices, and more, enabling them to make more informed choices. According to this research, 54% say DPPs already play a significant role in enhancing supply chain transparency and sustainability within their industry, while 63% expect DPPs to be more widely adopted within the next 3 years.
For more information about the trends identified by Loftware, access the full report here.
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