Tech Expectations Are Not Matching Reality For Many Companies

There is a large gap between what supply chain executives want from technology and what they’re getting, a new poll from PriceWaterhouseCoopers revealed. The accounting firm surveyed 600 operations and supply chain officers for its 2024 Digital Trends in Operations Survey and found that 69% believe their tech investments haven’t fully delivered the expected results. 

More concerning, 45% of CEOs believe their company won’t be viable in 10 years if it stays on its current trajectory. Despite increased investment in technology, many companies lack a cohesive strategy for integrating these tools effectively. Only 20% of executives have embraced Generative AI in their supply chains, and less than a third prioritize evolving their digital workforce and automation.

What are the reasons for this disconnect? Despite all the talk about embracing new technology, executives still prioritize short-term cost reduction and efficiency gains over long-term strategic actions.

7 ways to better leverage technology

To bridge this gap and ensure successful technology integration, PWC offers seven key recommendations:

1. Embrace complexity and think holistically.: Pursue end-to-end architecture for digital initiatives rather than isolated efforts, starting with a solid business case and ensuring employee alignment with long-term goals.
2. Consider both employee and customer experience in tech implementation: Tailor tech solutions to meet both employee and customer needs while understanding that successful digitization goes beyond mere technology adoption.
3. Overcome bad data to make better decisions: Prioritize data quality and analysis from the outset of digital investments to enable smarter direction and measurable gains.
4. Treat GenAI as a march, not a sprint: Approach GenAI investments with a deliberate strategy rather than rushing implementation, ensuring scalability and effective utilization.
5. Expand your scope of risk and turn needs into opportunities: View disruptive technologies as opportunities to evolve supply chain networks, leveraging them to address broader risk management concerns.
6. Integrate digital skills-building into your culture: Embed digital skills development into organizational culture to enhance efficiency and resilience across operations and supply chains.

7. Recognize how broader priorities can also address ongoing concerns: Prioritizing new business models and resilience-building can help address multiple issues like cost reduction and speed enhancement, challenging the notion of choosing between them.

8. Make technology a means to measurable business outcomes: Measure digital success by tangible business outcomes, going beyond incremental changes to drive innovation and sustainable growth.