It’s no secret that supply chains have had a challenging couple of years. The COVID-19 pandemic limited material supplies in virtually every manufacturing sector before conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East further drove up costs or worsened scarcity. None of that includes the extreme weather, labor strikes and maritime accidents organizations have had to deal with, either.

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Amid these repeated waves of disruption, global supply chains are showcasing surprising strength. Prices have come down from record highs, lead times are normalizing, manufacturing capacity is growing and the economy has seemingly avoided severe inflationary pressures. 

At first, such a positive outcome seems counterintuitive. However, a closer inspection reveals that supply chains have not strengthened despite recent challenges but because of them. More precisely, businesses’ reactions to adversity have yielded a stronger global supply chain.

A Rush of Tech Investments

Much of the added resilience organizations have fostered comes through technology adoption. Starting with the COVID pandemic, it became clear that companies needed to modernize their operations to survive in an increasingly challenging environment. Many jumped on the opportunity, driving impressive results.

One survey found that 67% of supply chain leaders had implemented digital solutions for end-to-end visibility in the wake of pandemic-era volatility. Those that did were twice as likely not to encounter any challenges from disruptions in 2022. The same applied to the 37% that embraced scenario planning, and the 53% that improved their data quality saw similar effects.

The most impactful solutions fall into a few common categories. The first is tech to provide information and visibility — things like the IoT, warehouse management systems (WMS) and cloud computing. Systems to interpret and act on this data — such as artificial intelligence (AI) — are another. Finally, businesses have seen advancement through efficiency-driving tech like robotics and software automation.

The potential of these technology categories has always been present. However, organizations often shied away from them, largely out of economic concerns. Even today, costs are the most-cited barrier to tech adoption, with 26% of global businesses saying it hinders them. However, when the pandemic rendered other options unavailable, it forced companies to bet on technology, and now that they have, it’s become a key driver of long-term resilience.

Growing Collaboration

The disruptions of the 2020s have also driven supply chains to evolve on a managerial level. One of the most notable trends to come out of this field is a growing emphasis on collaboration between once-siloed partners and third parties.

Many of the largest recent challenges have revealed a need for greater transparency. They’ve also highlighted how an issue at a single facility or business can affect the entire supply chain. As a result, it’s become clear that organizations need to work together and share information to ensure things work out for everyone involved.

The sector’s tech trends further encourage collaboration. Sharing data leads to more accurate forecasts for companies using predictive analytics and similar tools. Cloud management platforms are most helpful when they can connect to IoT data from a wider variety of sources. As more businesses have embraced these technologies, they’ve recognized the need to work closely with those they rely on.

Of the 69% of chief procurement officers who say developing a resilient supply chain is their top priority, 61% say increasing supplier collaboration is their best strategy to do so. One manufacturer who embraced this approach saw 10% reductions in transportation costs and 13% improvements in delivery performance. As additional success stories pop up, the impetus to collaborate will keep growing.

Abandoning Lean

It’s difficult to discuss changes in supply chain management philosophies without mentioning the move away from lean. COVID-era disruptions would’ve been severe no matter what, but it quickly became evident that they’d have been less so had the industry not relied on lean principles. The pursuit of efficiency above all else may have lowered costs in the short term, but it left companies vulnerable to massive shocks.

This shift is most evident in businesses’ stance on inventories and sourcing. As early as 2020, 19.6% of U.S. organizations said they would start to hold more inventory. A staggering 57.2% said they would diversify their suppliers, with many emphasizing reshoring or near-shoring.

Local sourcing and having multiple suppliers for a product look wasteful through a lean lens. However, it ensures the supply chain can keep operating when a single facility or region encounters difficulties. Similarly, while inventory is technically unused value, it lets companies prevent stock-outs and lengthy delays amid supplier-side disruptions.

The move away from lean principles still shows strong growth today. A 2022 survey indicated that 24% of supply chain leaders aim to diversify and segment their suppliers in the coming years. Philosophies like a commitment to continuous improvement and eliminating waste won’t likely fade entirely, but it’s clear that speed has taken a back seat to long-term resilience.

Supply Chains Will Emerge Stronger After Recent Disruption

Supply chains still have a long way to go before global economies can rest easy. However, things haven’t panned out as dire as they once seemed they would. By and large, organizations have responded as they should to disruption.

While it’s impossible to prevent disruption entirely, it seems businesses have learned from recent history and are embracing new tools and techniques to help them minimize the impact of future extremes.