State of Supply Chain Resilience – Ensuring Supply Continuity in a Brittle, Anxious, Non-Linear, and Incomprehensible World

Based on an extensive survey with 100 Procurement professionals across various industries in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the Procurement Initiative captures viewpoints regarding company-specific capabilities and vulnerabilities in building supply chain resilience. The figures – that confirm our pre-defined hypotheses – paint an evocative portrait of a Procurement function in a stranglehold between short-term (e.g. building inventory to ensure supply continuity) and long-term perspectives (e.g. nearshoring to boost sustainability). This is happening although legislation (e.g. the German Supply Chain Act) mandates a long-term perspective (e.g. alignment with the 1.5 C target). In this field of tension between necessary short-term and long-term perspectives, Procurement has the opportunity to take responsibility and navigate the strategic course.