Despite claims that supply chain issues are improving, seven in ten supply chain leaders said they’re still experiencing significant challenges according to a recent report.

In DispatchTrack’s new survey, entitled “2023 Supply Chain Perspective,” 72% of companies stated they are still experiencing supply chain challenges.

When asked about inventory shortages, 30% of responders said that they expect shortages to be an issue this year. Meanwhile, 26% of survey participants said they are concerned with inventory oversupplies this year.

Financial burdens also seem to be taking their toll on these businesses because 62% of those interviewed said they expect their operating costs to increase by 10% to 20%. Almost a fifth of respondents (17%) claimed their operating costs could increase by as much as 25% to 50%.

To counteract the potential growth in operating costs, 40% of companies said they plan on increasing fees this year.

Shipping problems also loom large because over half of the survey’s participants (53%) said they are just as concerned or are more concerned about missing delivery windows this year as opposed to previous years.

Despite the number of overwhelming challenges that supply chain professionals expect to face, many organizations feel good about their prospects for the year since 61% stated they have a positive business outlook for 2023. Unfortunately, 39% said that they are either uncertain about their business (30%) or have a negative outlook for their company (9%) for 2023.

Interviewees also plan on investing more money to handle potential supply chain challenges. Over half of the responders (55%) said they hope to hire more delivery drivers or increase their delivery capacity in the coming months. Thirty-one percent said they think they will increase warehouse space this year while 23% said they plan on investing in ESG and sustainability initiatives.

DispatchTrack gathered the information for the “2023 Supply Chain Perspective” survey by conducting online interviews of 101 supply chain professionals through SurveyMonkey from April 11 to May 2, 2023.