SAP announced a new research report, in partnership with Oxford Economics, whose findings offer especially timely insights to help companies minimize disruptions to their supply chains, even in crises.

“The world we live in, while often turbulent, has been turned on its head recently with the impact of COVID-19,” said Martin Barkman, SAP senior vice president and head of Digital Supply Chain, Solution Management. “This unprecedented situation has led to a severe disruption in supply chains, making it challenging for businesses to deliver products on time and meet customer needs. Now more than ever, we need supply chains that are resilient.”

The SAP and Oxford Economics survey examined the practices of “Supply Chain Leaders” – those 12 percent of respondents with more resilient supply chains and higher levels of innovation, customer and employee satisfaction, and growth numbers in comparison to other respondents. While all supply chains are vulnerable to risks in a global economy, the research suggests organizations embrace the traits of industry leaders to be best set up for success, especially during times of disruption.

Supply Chain Leaders are identified as those who share the following four traits:

• Base most of their product value chain decisions on customer needs
• Factor in sustainability issues from product design through delivery
• Capture and act on real-time information, often using artificial intelligence or predictive analytics
• Deploy advanced technologies at scale across their organizations

Although the survey was completed in the early days of COVID-19, before the supply chain disruption reached crisis levels, its finding are applicable to today’s challenges.

“The findings show that supply chain executives need the visibility to make informed decisions with speed and accuracy by leveraging technology that helps their business to sense, predict and respond to these global dynamics,” said Oxford Economics Senior Research Analyst Ben Wright.

Read the full report from SAP and Oxford Economics to learn more about the study findings. Visit SAP’s website to see the ways SAP is helping customers better manage their supply chains in the face of these unprecedented challenges.

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