Be flexible - no matter what may come

A study by Capgemini Research Institute examined the past year's disruptions to consumer goods and retail supply chains. Sixty-six percent of companies say they will significantly change their strategy over the next three years to adapt to the impact of the pandemic and build resilience into their operations.

Only 23 percent of consumer goods companies and 28 percent of retailers believe their supply chain is agile enough to meet changing business needs. For the study, 400 executives from eleven different countries were surveyed between August and September 2020.

Covid-19 was a wake-up call, with 85 percent of consumer goods companies and 88 percent of retailers saying they faced disruptions. Sixty-three percent of consumer goods companies and 71 percent of retailers said it took three months or longer for their supply chains to recover from disruptions.

As a result, companies are realigning their strategies to focus on three critical areas: Demand analysis, supply chain visibility and regionalization. More than two-thirds of companies (68 percent) say they had difficulty planning for demand because they lacked accurate and up-to-date information about fluctuating customer demand during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, 54 percent say they will use analytics with artificial intelligence or machine learning for demand forecasting to cope with the impact of Covid-19. To develop the agility to do so, manufacturers should optimize visibility within their supply chain, the study authors recommend.