Manufacturers struggle to go digital in supply chains

Even as manufacturers pursue digital supply-chain strategies and technologies, most companies in a recent survey said they don’t expect to have a fully integrated digital supply chain anytime soon.

According to the JDA 2018 Intelligent Manufacturing Survey, 46 percent of companies surveyed said they are actively pursuing strategies and technologies to digitize their supply chains this year. Another 24 percent said supply-chain digitalization will become a major priority within 12 months.

Those strategies and technologies include components like mobile applications, advanced analytics and cloud-based applications.

Only 18 percent of respondents said their company currently has a fully integrated digital supply chain. Another 34 percent said their supply chain has some digital functions that are not fully integrated. The remaining 48 percent either said they are “exploring digital options” or have a “predigital” supply chain.

Looking ahead, 35 percent of respondents said they expect to have a fully integrated digital supply chain in two to three years. Another 28 percent said they expect to have adopted some digital supply chain functions. The remaining 37 percent said they expect to be in the “exploring” or “predigital” stages.

The survey, conducted for Arizona-based JDA Software Group Inc. by a third-party research partner, included responses from 271 U.S.-based professionals in the manufacturing and wholesale-distribution industries.•