Uncertainty New ‘Constant’ in Global Supply Chain Management: Gartner

Global supply chains are confronting an “evolution” that will completely change how chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) organize and run their organizations, reported Gartner Thursday. A good supply chain in the past was “efficient and powerful,” but it must now be “agile and fast,” it said. Uncertainty is the new “constant” in supply chains, said Gartner. No one knows "where the next competitor will come from and what their impact will be,” it said. Nearly half of CSCOs Gartner canvassed expressed concern “that their business is at risk of being disrupted in the coming years, with the greatest risk coming from nontraditional businesses such as startups,” it said. Uncertainty from the U.S.-China trade war remains a looming threat that won’t go away soon, it said. “More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concern about future pandemics, after shutting down global supply chains and trade routes.” The ongoing uncertainty “calls for a new approach to supply chain management,” it said. “CSCOs must build more flexible and resilient networks that can respond effectively to global shocks and disruptions -- be it caused by nature or a competitor.”