Maturity of supply chains is a competitive advantage

Companies with the most mature supply chains are 23 percent more profitable than their competitors. This is the result of a recent Accenture study. The analysis also shows that the leading companies are six times more likely to use AI and generative AI extensively in their supply chain management and thus also increase company values.

Accenture surveyed over 1000 companies from ten industries in fifteen countries for the "Next stop, next-gen" report. The study measures the maturity of a supply chain by the extent to which companies use generative AI, machine learning and other technologies for autonomous decision-making, sophisticated simulations and continuous improvement in their supply chains. These capabilities enable companies to adapt to change faster and integrate new technologies seamlessly.

Maturity and margin

The results show that the top performers - the top 10 percent of companies with the highest score on the maturity scale - were able to achieve 23 percent higher margins than their competitors between 2019 and 2023. "Leading companies are investing heavily in advanced technologies, particularly AI and generative AI, to build next-generation supply chains," says Matthias Hégelé, Supply Chain and Operations Lead DACH at Accenture. "These skills are essential for reshaping supply chains in terms of efficiency, flexibility, sustainability and resilience. They enable market leaders to overcome current and future weaknesses and inefficiencies in fundamental supply chain factors such as cost, quality and delivery."

Paper maps in the SCM

The overall picture painted by the report is alarming. While the average maturity level of supply chains increased by more than 50% between 2019 and 2023, the average value across all companies is only 36%. The average value varies depending on the industry and country. In Germany, it is 45%, in Mexico 22% and in Japan 52%.

For consumer goods companies, it is 31%, and in the automotive, aerospace and defense industries it is 40% each. "If we compare the maturity of supply chains with how our navigation methods have evolved, from star charts to semi-autonomous vehicles, then many in supply chain management are still working with paper maps and navigation systems from the early days," adds Matthias Hégelé.

"The development of the next generation of supply chains has only just begun. The solutions required for this, such as generative design for product development, highly automated systems for their production and advanced analytics and machine learning for predicting supply bottlenecks, already exist. But they are just the beginning. The potential for innovation is enormous."

Companies need to develop their supply chain management skills in order to remain competitive in today's economic context. The days of stable economic growth and smooth globalization are over. The old levers in the supply chain, such as global low-cost sourcing and specialized factories in low-cost locations, are no longer sufficient.

accenture.com