It’s no secret the global supply chain is in a constant state of turmoil. Last year alone ushered in the war in Ukraine, climate change challenges, political instability, and the surge in inflation. Collins English Dictionary coined a word of the year that sums up the calamity of 2022: “Permacrisis.”

Permacrisis is defined as an extended period of instability and insecurity, especially one resulting from a series of catastrophic events.

Unfortunately, this “series of catastrophic events” shows no signs of slowing down, which means supply chains need to adapt. Let’s take a closer look at how resiliency, sustainability, and visibility are becoming more important than ever in bolstering supply chains of the future.

Risk resiliency is a top priority

When sharing best practices with supply chain executives, “resiliency” is the most used word to describe what is top of mind. This need for supply chain resiliency was highlighted by David Vallejo, Vice President of Global Supply Chain Planning for SAP in a recent Future of Supply Chain podcast.

“You don't know where the next level of disruption will come from so building resiliency into your supply chain processes is critical,” said Vallejo.

Many companies were caught off guard because disruptions were hitting their suppliers (and their suppliers) in the upper tier of their supply chain.

“So the first thing you need to understand is the structure of your supply chain, not just your own manufacturing facilities or just maybe your direct suppliers, or transportation providers, but also upstream in the supply chain,” said Vallejo.

Sustainability is top of mind

A majority of company mission statements center around sustainability – and our global supply chains sit right in the middle as a major contributor to the climate crisis. It’s a clear opportunity to meet climate targets, according to Justin Goldston, a Professor of Supply Chain Management at Penn State.

“As organizations increasingly adopt sustainability initiatives, the role of the supply chain in these efforts becomes more important,” said Goldston. “The supply chain is often responsible for a significant portion of an organization's environmental impact, and as such, can be a key area for reducing that impact.”

Reducing impact to meet sustainability goals are being driven from all angles as consumers are constantly looking for sustainable products that are ethically sourced, manufactured and delivered with minimal or zero emissions. Leading consumer brands are beginning to catch on, highlighting stories about where their products come from and if they are made from sustainably sourced materials.

Colgate-Palmolive, for example, pledged to use 100 percent recyclable, reusable, or compostable materials for its consumer packaging by 2025 and reduce its use of virgin plastic. Technology enables Colgate-Palmolive to access data up and down its supply chain, which has been integral to the ongoing creation of new, sustainable products.

Unfortunately, many companies do not have the proper tools to monitor, measure, and manage their sustainability initiatives. As Penn States Dr. Justin Goldston explained in another podcast in the series, “when people talk about sustainability, it's kind of like buzzword bingo. They do it, but really don't have plans in place.”

Once initial goals are set, business leaders must then measure their performance and use data captured across the supply chain to refine their operations. Sustainability must extend from the design to the end of life of a product: from the design of products, the sourcing of raw materials, manufacturing of goods, all the way to last-mile logistics, and even to product usage, returns and recycling processes.

Visibility is key

In a recent conversation with Accenture’s Michel Roger, he explained that obtaining accurate data is a challenge when addressing supply chain visibility. “I’ve seen several large, global companies still struggling with visibility internally and externally,” he said.

SAP’s David Vallejo also believes in the value of leveraging both structured and unstructured data.

“We’ve seen great results from companies using external real-time data such as market economics, GDP coordinates, weather, and traffic data feeds to correlate with their own supply chain operation to actually get early warning system of influencing factors,” said Vallejo.

Technology as the great enabler

The use of technology can help companies capture and leverage the data to improve supply chain visibility, leverage this data to automate repetitive tasks, and empower a workforce to make more informed and timely decisions and increase their productivity.

“The use of digital twins and models of supply chains will evolve to be the default approach to represent and improve your supply chain planning and operations,” said Roger. “The ultimate goal is to continue digitizing the board room and being able to drill down to the details, including having a digital twin of the entire company’s operations, provides unparalleled visibility, information, and control for the C-Suite.”

Other supply chain tech advancements include Web3, the culmination of blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the internet of things, according to Goldston.

“If we all look at the positive impacts of these technologies, then they're going to make a positive impact in the world,” said Goldston. “Not just from an environmental perspective, but from a societal perspective as well.”