The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis underscore how important proactive and forward-looking crisis management is for safeguarding the competitiveness of businesses, especially with regard to the supply chain. With the pandemic outbreak, important suppliers failed practically overnight. Many industrial companies waited in vain for urgently needed raw materials and production materials, or had to put up with long and costly delays. The further course of the pandemic also demonstrated the vulnerability of tightly meshed supply chains. COVID-19 and its restrictions disrupted what had previously been solid commodity flows around the world. Companies suddenly had to look for entirely new sources of raw materials and business partners.
Supply chain management therefore needs to be rethought. It is not only the short-term disruptions caused by COVID- 19 that play an role here, but also important social developments such as sustainability and the circular economy. The conclusion to be drawn from these developments is that companies need to build resilient and responsible supply chains that prove to be crisis-proof, but also address the issues of emissions and incorporate environmental social governance (ESG) criteria from the outset. Building such supply chains can only work if modern technologies and data are used throughout the company.
Technologies from artificial intelligence (AI) to the Internet of Things (IoT) to cloud management and blockchain are enabling companies to reinvent supply chains to meet their climate and resiliency goals. In one of our recent reports, 75% of CEOs indicate they’re already digitizing value chains to take sustainability management to a new level. in addition to gaining more efficiency.
Specifically, using digital twin technology is a good way to virtually represent assets, enabling supply chains to be modeled in real time. In this way, a business can test scenarios for improving resilience and reducing emissions while also optimizing customer service.
但没有数据的技术是无用的。这就是为什么数据处于任何有效的气候行为的核心。根据我们的研究，虽然五个首席执行官用技术使用技术来收集和管理公司范围的ESG数据，但只有四分之一的这些商业领导者以先进的方式管理他们的数据。要改变这一点，公司需要加速他们的迁移到云端。通过云，公司可以通过多级供应链演员连接系统和数据的复杂网络。该云提供了将信息共享和管理的技术和环境到新级别。
One example—straight from the field— that shows how technology and data can be combined to create ground-breaking and forward-thinking supply chain management is John Deere, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment for agriculture, construction, forestry, and other industries. In agriculture—with large acreages, widely dispersed suppliers, a global network, and a natural interest in sustainability—the need for technology and data is evident. In Accenture’s recent edition of “The Industrialist,” Wallas Wiggins, vice president of global supply management and logistics at John Deere, made very clear how ESG criteria and technology are interdependent. Both are already shaping the supply chain today and will do so even more in the future.
Data from the farmer’s field is sent to the customer’s operation center, from the time of tillage to harvest. This data is analyzed to gain insights into yield. For example, locations can be identified where it is worth sowing more because the yield is higher there. Deere provides a lot of tools that its customers can use to gain valuable insights to reduce costs and increase yields.
ESG
As part of Deere's larger ESG-approach, one of the key focus areas is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For example, they’re working to ensure all the electricity they bus is renewable energy. Deere is also developing a structure that helps share and match disparate sustainability expectations with suppliers. The structure also captures ESG data to make their, and suppliers’, contribution to sustainability initiatives visible.
Knowledge transfer
In a world that thrives on exchange and swarm intelligence, it is important to use supplier knowledge. John Deere is therefore focusing on implementing innovative developments by its suppliers into its own products and services. In addition, John Deere also asks its suppliers where they see opportunities for Deere—an effective measure that is both informative and collaborative.
Necessity of supply chain transformation
除了这里讨论的技术外，同样重要的是开发适当和敏捷的工作方法，用于处理创新技术。结合新的使用数字第一心态在供应链管理中使用的方式创造了更好的客户体验，更智能的业务流程和更可持续的产品。特别是在实现ESG标准方面，优化和数字化供应链对实现可持续发展目标做出了重大贡献。利用这些福利的公司有潜力越跨越竞争。
