Nucleus conducted a survey of 1,700 supply chain management (SCM) leaders to analyze current technology spending habits and future investment trends. The findings underscore a significant concern among companies about rising costs, with 49% identifying cost increases as their primary challenge. In response, businesses are prioritizing automation, with 58% already integrating generative AI and machine learning into their SCM operations. Additionally, half of the companies not yet using smart robotics plan to adopt or are considering implementation within the next year.
“Over half of respondents are leveraging AI, automation, or machine learning in SCM,” noted Senior Analyst Samuel Hamway, highlighting the technologies’ crucial role in maintaining competitiveness amid supply chain disruptions and market shifts.
Key findings from the report include:
- Boosting Productivity and Workforce Deployment: High-growth companies, defined by a 20% revenue increase over three years, are turning to automation to cut labor costs and redeploy employees to more complex tasks. About 32% anticipate reducing staff due to automation.
- Platform-Centric Approach: 53% of organizations favor a platform-based SCM technology strategy over point solutions (27%) and manual methods (20%).
- Adoption of Robotics: Despite initial resistance over job displacement concerns, robotics prove most beneficial in automating manual, repetitive, and error-prone tasks. This approach complements human workers by freeing them to focus on tasks requiring human judgment.
For the complete Supply Chain Agility Survey Report, click here.
