2022 was, undoubtedly, another tough year with many disruptions happening outside the four walls of enterprise. Shortage of parts and labour, political unrest, global consumer uncertainty, and rising inflation; if you survived the obstacles over the last three years, you could overcome anything.
In the year ahead, business leaders will be taking the knowledge acquired over the last three years and embedding them into everyday practice. It’s about being prepared to weather the storms through resilience, agility, adaptability, efficiency, security, data proficiency, insightfulness, and environmental sustainability – all essential to driving success in the future.
Extreme weather and natural disasters will continue
Over the past few years, extreme weather events have increased in severity and frequency, and they will continue to occur. With significant supply chain challenges arising in their aftermath, more companies will be planning to mitigate supply chain risks in the wake of a storm.
Before, during, and after a disaster, delays are inevitable. The tight capacity and shipping downtime can increase rates and severely disrupt freight flow for months.
Prepare, minimise impact, and mitigate costs
While many transportation leaders would say the greatest challenge following extreme weather events is the impact on short-term rates and budgets, the impact on production facilities can be just as significant.
To successfully manage the impact, automated alerts inform those who can act, like modern GPS directional systems that alert drivers to traffic delays along a route. With a single shipment route, this is easy enough, but what about thousands, even millions of shipments?
More companies are looking to an automated system to help identify weather events that may impact a client’s usual shipment lanes. One system uses forecast data combined with mapping processes to identify any shipment passing through known or forecasted severe weather. The system can identify which shipments will be impacted, and contingency planning can begin according to the severity of that impact. This technology – predictive and prescriptive analytics – is being leveraged in other areas of the supply chain where high visibility is valued.
Tech and networks will help to reduce supply chain friction
Quickly executing a plan of action when a natural disaster happens is critical. Being part of a strong ecosystem with proven technology lends speed, efficiency, and flexibility to help minimise the impact of a weather event.
For instance, access to an extensive global network of trading partners offers real-time location visibility into every shipment across all modes and regions, as well as analysing business impacts of transport delays on downstream operations. It can then proactively recommend corrective actions, enabling seamless execution for any changes in shipment bookings. It also ensures the best rate every time by automatically comparing freight costs to industry benchmarks; forecasting future transportation needs to secure capacity with preferred carriers.
Weathering the Trade Policy Storm
Protectionist trade policies are also causing companies to shift their country sourcing practices, and there is no reason to believe that we will see geopolitical posturing along the trade front fade soon.
The new normal in global trade policy is a stormy environment that is highly unpredictable. Supply chain managers need to put in place proactive measures to keep supply chains safe or become a casualty. To help keep things moving and visible, companies are modifying their investments in automation and technology.
Global, up-to-date trade knowledge will be essential
Understandably, trade policies all around the globe are in flux. In this fluid environment, it can be challenging to pinpoint trends and assess how trade policy shifts might impact your business and products. When new policies are implemented, shippers and manufacturers all over the world rush to reconfigure their supply chains both physically and financially by finding new suppliers, alternative production sources, and lower-risk markets for selling their goods.
Access to a global, comprehensive, and accurate database of regulations and business rules, is helping companies stay compliant, reduce trade risks, and lower product costs. Some business applications, for example, efficiently consolidate compliance data across hundreds of countries, territories, and jurisdictions and provide access to restricted party lists, helping companies achieve instant, automatic trade compliance, increase visibility, and improve margins while reducing delays at the border.
Emissions Tracking: Know Your Footprint
With talk of greenhouse gas emissions everywhere, not only do emissions factor heavily into the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics investors care about, but carbon taxes are also on the minds of many executives. Corporate investors, and thus regulators, are looking for more transparency as they evaluate companies.
It is now possible for companies to have visibility of their emissions footprint of transport scenarios before they book freight, rather than reporting after the fact.
These systems allow companies to actively work to reduce their environmental footprint by weighing the carbon impact alongside the cost and timeline of the options available. This helps companies make more sustainable moves across modes and regions to drive down the overall carbon footprint, reduce ESG risks, and better meet net-zero carbon commitments.
It starts with getting an accurate—and early—forecast of demand for your products, using that to secure supply, efficiently manufacture, and reliably move all the components and finished goods to market in a cohesive, timely, and low-carbon way.
2023 will be the year to shore-up innovative, intuitive, intelligent solutions
Adapting plans and execution with agility to weather storms and navigate disruptions in the year ahead will demand near real-time access to data. It’s about enabling your company to know immediately about challenges and act collaboratively with your partners to address them.
2023 will be the year of reinforcing strong systems, processes, and tech that will shelter your company from uncertainty. It’s about being equipped with the right teams, the right insights, the right strategy, and smart technology to give you the edge, keeping you and your customers moving in a stormy environment.
