While eCommerce and Sustainability Top Key Trends, Only 23% in Fashion and Apparel Industry Have High Confidence in Supply Chain
CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning, and outsourcing services, today released its 2023 Supply Chain Technology Trends Report. The annual report evaluates the vital signs of customers in the fashion, consumer goods, and retail industries that CGS BlueCherry serves.
The 2023 report provided a mix of trends that have held firm and others of increased importance to respondents. Topping the results is a focus on 1) eCommerce and 2) Sustainability as the primary 2023 growth opportunities. Also notable was that only 23% of respondents admitted having high confidence in their supply chain while a majority, 70% either have or plan to implement technology to support process digitalization, such as PLM, ERP, inventory management, demand planning, supply chain tracking, and logistics management.
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Key Report Highlights
- eCommerce: remained the number one growth opportunity in 2023 as it was for CGS’s 2022 Report.
- Sustainability: represents the year’s biggest change moving from the sixth-most important growth opportunity to the second.
- Inflation: ranked third, which is consistent with other surveys1, which found 85% of fashion executives predict inflation will continue to challenge the market.
- Reducing Costs: for 1/3rd of respondents, reducing costs ranked either first or second in their list of 2023 priorities.
- Supply Chain Confidence: while a healthy 63% of respondents have moderate confidence in their supply chains, only 23% have high confidence and ~15% reported low to no supply chain confidence.
- Supply Chain Visibility: 57% of respondents plan to improve supply chain visibility in 2023.
- Digital Transformation: An overwhelming 70% of respondents have or plan to implement technology to support process digitalization
- Strengthening Supply Chain Relationships: is cited as the number one action taken or planned in order to overcome supply chain challenges.
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“Our annual report is an amalgamation of data from a quantitative survey, our daily work with thousands of clients, and 40 years of experience that we synthesize into this annual report in order to inform, interest, and benefit our customers,” said Paul Magel, President, Business Applications and Technology Outsourcing Division, CGS. “Depending on your perspective, in this year’s report, supply chains remain in the spotlight — or in the hot seat. Underpinning the age-old adage of the right product, right time, right place, right price, right quality with a heightened emphasis on sustainability and supply chain visibility.”
