The survey, which canvassed 623 supply chain professionals across 17 countries, found 57 percent of respondents considered their supply chain to be a competitive advantage that would enable the development of their company. Two thirds of firms spent 5 to 15 percent of turnover on their supply chain.

The survey found 67 percent of supply chain leaders in companies were positioned either at the top management or corporate level. And companies that had appointed a supply chain leader as a board member were more likely to see earnings rise, while those whose head of supply chain was a middle manager seemed to be less profitable.

Seven in 10 firms considered their supply chain to be either very or extremely complex. Almost three quarters used five different transportation modes in their supply chain, with the two most popular being road and air freight.

Eight in 10 firms were using between one and three KPIs to assess supply chain performance.

Read Full Article