Companies with supply chain leaders in the C-suite experience stronger operational performance than those where supply chain leaders take on a middle management role, according to Geodis' 2017 Supply Chain Worldwide Survey.
For the survey, an independent research institute polled 623 upper management business professionals from 17 countries on the state of their companies' supply chains. All respondents directly handle — or have a link to — their organization's daily supply chain operations, according to the report.
Here are seven survey findings.
- Seventy percent of respondents said their supply chains were "very or extremely complex."
- Nearly three fourths of respondents said their companies used four to five different forms of transportation within their supply chain.
- Thirty-two percent of respondents cited containing cost increases as the most concerning market constraint, followed by facing global competition (28 percent) and adapting to changes in consumers' quality expectations (27 percent).
- A majority (81 percent) of companies are using one to three key performance indicators to assess their supply chain performance.
- Seventy seven percent of companies dedicate more than 5 percent of turnover to supply chain, and 43 percent dedicate more than 10 percent.
- More than two-thirds (67 percent) of supply chain leadership positions are held by top management or c-suite leaders.
- Twenty three percent of organizations with supply chain leaders in middle management had a 10 to 15 percent earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increase, compared to 74 percent companies with supply chain leaders in C-suite roles or top management roles.
To view the full survey, click here.
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