The research report, Drive Your Own Disruption: Is your supply chain in sleep mode?, reveals that the 900 supply chain executives surveyed were more likely to say that they see their function in two years as a cost efficiency driver (60 percent) or a support function (68 percent) than as a competitive differentiator (48 percent) or a growth enabler (53 percent) within their organizations, which can leave significant value on the table.

“Supply chain executives should take no comfort in being categorized as a support function,” says Mohammed (Mo) Hajibashi, a managing director at Accenture. “In this digital era where customers demand speed to market and hyper-personalization, these executives need to ensure that their supply chain function is not only a key differentiator but also ensures the sustained growth of their organizations. The fast and efficient adoption of the right new technologies that enable a new way of working, along with increased C-suite engagement with the supply chain function, are the keys to achieving growth via new digital business models that create new customer experiences, craved by the consumer.”

The study found that 80 percent of the supply chain executives surveyed identify the chief information officer or chief technology officer — not the CEO, chief operating officer (COO) or chief financial officer (CFO) — as key stakeholders, even despite the major role the CFO has in making technology investment decisions and the COO’s role in designing the operating model.

Furthermore, in many organizations, the supply chain isn’t seen as a driver of differentiation and aggressive growth. Meanwhile, the CSCOs blame the absence of a clear business strategy (cited by 43 percent of CSCOs surveyed), together with an inadequately skilled workforce (48 percent) and incompatible legacy systems (44 percent), for their function’s inability to drive value for the organization.

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