GLOBAL pandemic is proving a catalyst for change with businesses making changes to supply chain model, research commissioned by BluJay Solutions shows.

A report, Creating Resilience Amid Disruption: Research on How Supply Chains are Changing for Success and Survival was commissioned by BluJay and conducted by Adelante SCM.

Among the top findings was that the pandemic is proving to be a catalyst for change, with 75% of survey respondents saying their companies would make changes to supply chain practices based on lessons learned from the pandemic.

“Disruption has always been a part of managing the supply chain, but the velocity and scale of disruption that organisations have had to contest within 2020 has been unprecedented,” said BluJay chief marketing officer Patrick Maley.

“Supply chains of almost every company in the world have been impacted, with some halting operations and others struggling to meet unexpected surges in demand.”

Mr Maley said the pandemic had made clear how imperative supply chain resilience was to success and survival.

“We hope the results of this research will provide useful insights and spark important conversations between all stakeholders to create smarter, better, and more resilient supply chains moving forward.”

Key findings from the survey were:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great disruptor of supply chains, it is also serving as a catalyst for change and innovation.
  • Companies retained their belief that customer experience would become the number-one brand differentiator over the next five years.

There was a notable difference between North American companies and those in the rest of the world with a lower percentage of North American companies agreeing or strongly agree that customer experience would become the top brand differentiator compared with ROW companies (59% v 67%).

The full report can be viewed here.