That's among the conclusions of a survey called Network Optimization Hampered by Poor Data & Lack of Strategic Collaboration, published by LLamasoft, a supply chain design software solutions provider.

Fifty percent also believe their ability to react to unexpected events is hampered because of incorrect or late inventory and replenishment data.

The results were revealed in a poll of 120 senior supply chain professionals which explored the main areas able to deliver realistic medium-term improvement in supply chain performance, with 25 percent of participants reporting that daily replenishment requirements as part of supply chain optimization are not being supported with the right investment.

A fifth (20 percent) believe the reason cross-enterprise collaboration fails to yield the expected benefits is because executives do not engage with their counterparts at a strategic level, while a quarter (25 percent) said robust information technology (IT) support was the foundation for success.

The poll was conducted during a webinar run jointly by LLamasoft and Sabena Technics, a supplier of maintenance, repair and overhaul services to civil and military aircraft operators.

The poll also revealed that 52 percent of participants saw supply chain optimization as the main tool for reducing costs while maintaining standards of service in the face of globalization. More than a third (36 percent) said new inventory and replenishment strategies were the most relevant to meeting the same important goal.

However, while many recognize the potential to overcome key challenges, well over a third (37 percent) indicated that currently, talent is developed with insufficient end-to-end understanding of the supply chain, compounding an existing silo mentality that inhibits optimization.

Source: LLamasoft