ACI Group has shone a spotlight on the importance of supply chain digitalisation in response to a Business Continuity Institute (BCI) report which found that almost 80% of organisations have experienced supply chain disruptions over the past year.
The annual report also highlighted that, while businesses are increasingly using technology to add resilience and flexibility to their supply chains, and awareness of concepts like tier mapping are growing, the majority of businesses rely on archaic systems like Excel spreadsheets to manage their supply chain performance.
“Awareness of business continuity and supply chain resilience is growing, but only a minority of businesses are truly prepared to do anything about it,” said Leonie Cooke, Head of Customer Services at ACI Group. “Just because disruptions are widespread doesn’t mean that businesses should take them lying down. There are many measures an organisation can take to minimise the risks it faces – and while the report indicates the number of businesses taking those measures is increasing, there are still many that risk being left behind in a changing world.
“Digitisation is the answer to many of these challenges. At ACI Group, we use advanced, AI-powered tools, our global market expertise, and our network of suppliers to help our customers prepare for and avoid the inevitable disruptions that are part and parcel of the modern world.”
Cook also stated that they expected the number of supply chain challenges businesses face would only increase further, pointing to the increase in oil prices as a result of the continuing Middle East crisis.
“The current volatile climate means some challenges are out of an organisation’s control,” added Cooke, “but what they can control is how they prepare for and respond to those challenges. This is where distributors like ACI and digital technologies can help businesses thrive, while the competition is caught off-guard.”