Three Supply Chain Trends Revealed in the 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report

The 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report, “The Responsible Supply Chain: Transparency, Sustainability, and the Case for Business,” highlights the importance of building resilient and responsible supply chains. Coauthored by MHI and Deloitte, the findings of this report are based on a survey of more than 2,000 supply chain professionals. Below are three major trends that the report forecasts will characterize 2023.

Supply Chain Executives will Push for Greater Sustainability

If you are in the C-suite, you probably feel pressured to implement more sustainability measures. In our survey, 48% of respondents said they faced increased influences to adopt a more sustainable supply chain. In addition to regulators in the US and EU setting stricter climate risk standards for corporations, stakeholders are also demanding that brands become greener.

The annual report also discusses the growing focus on Scope 3 emissions. As it was stated in a recent MHI Solutions article, “measuring and mitigating so-called Scope 3 emissions is rapidly emerging as an urgent business priority on the path to a net-zero global economy.”

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For MHI Members

Sustainability is a major focus for MHI in 2023. If you are an MHI member, visit mhi.org/sustainability to learn more about the scope training emission program we are offering in partnership with Guidehouse Consulting.

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Companies Will Increase Spending on Supply Chain Technology

As companies recover from pandemic-related disruptions, expect them to continue to pour money into their supply chain. 74% of survey respondents said they would increase their investment in supply chain technology and innovation; 90% said they are playing to spend more than $1 million in 2023.

With a corporate desire to remain competitive, the explosion of digital technologies is helping to drive this investment. The report found that the following three technologies are expected to see the greatest adoption over the next five years:

• Inventory and Network Optimization
• Cloud Computing and Storage
• Sensors and Automatic Identification

Suppliers and Customers Will Use IoT to Improve Collaboration

Over the past few years, companies have learned the necessity of strengthening communication with their partners in order to mitigate risk to their supply chain. To improve collaboration, the report predicts an acceleration in corporate adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to the report, “As IoT adoption continues to rise, vast new data lakes will be created that provide increasingly granular information on the movement of goods within an organization’s supply ecosystem…”

Learn More from the Annual Industry Report Keynote

The 2023 MHI Annual Industry Report was unveiled this March during a ProMat 2023 keynote. MHI CEO John Paxton presented the report findings, which were discussed by panelists from such companies as Unilever, Mars Wrigley, and Kenco Group. You can watch their discussion using ProMat Digital Entry.