At a time when companies are focusing on omni-channel shopping, most CEOs across the world feel their supply chain systems are not ready to meet today’s omni-channel shopping requirements.
While 50 percent of CEOs realize supply chain can be a strategic differentiator, almost 83 percent of the surveyed believe their retail supply chains are currently “not optimal” for today’s changing retail environment.
Global Retail CEO Survey conducted by PwC for JDA Software of over 400 retail industry revealed that CEOs are centered on more traditional ways of enhancing growth by entering into new regions and markets and opening more stores through mergers and acquisitions.
These priorities highlight potential missed opportunities for more than two-thirds of CEOs who failed to consider enhancing distribution capacity and supply chain as a key contributor to drive profitable growth, the survey said.
The survey revealed that omni-channel shopping has transformed supply chain from an important business concern to a mission critical one.
“Digitally connected consumers have turned retail models upside down as omni-channel shopping has transformed supply chain from an important business concern to a mission critical one. 50 percent of CEOs recognize that their supply chain can be a strategic differentiator. However, 83 percent of worldwide CEOs believe that their retail supply chains are currently ‘not optimal’ for today’s changing retail environment,” the survey said.
As mobile commerce comes of age, one of the biggest challenges facing CEOs is managing the transformation to omni-channel retail. However, only 34 percent of CEOs consider the rise of omni-channel shopping to be an external threat, while only 22 percent said it will have a direct impact on their organization.
“Retailers who don’t understand the strategic alignment of their supply chain with consumer expectations are in danger of becoming non-competitive. However, there is an emerging group of visionary CEOs who understand that staying competitive during this inflection point requires a dramatic shift of their current operating models to deliver operational effectiveness and top- and bottom-line growth,” said Baljit Dail, CEO, JDA Software.
Fifty percent of CEOs recognize that their supply chain can be a strategic differentiator. The survey also revealed that CEOs who focus on optimizing their supply chains have 15 percent lower supply chain costs, less than half the inventory levels and more than three times shorter cash-to-cash cycles.
