Supply Chain Forecasts for 2022

Several market reports on top international supply chain services predict the sentiments of the supply chain in 2022. The Covid-19 pandemic has made the global supply chain more resilient and innovative. Can we expect it to become steadfast in the coming year? Let’s try to present a lucid picture here listing the top supply chain forecasts for 2022.

Supply chains are expected to become circular: Linear supply chains would be replaced by circular supply chains wherein manufacturers would be refurbishing discarded products for resale. This way the concerns of ever-increasing prices of raw materials and volatility in terms of their availability could be tackled effectively. Consequently, companies would be able to cut down on the costs involved in procuring raw materials and also enjoy a reduced risk of price and availability volatility. Furthermore, circular supply chains create less waste as compared to linear supply chains which would act as a positive step towards making the supply chains greener.

Supply chains would be more resilient: The preparedness and proactiveness of supply chains towards future disruptions and immediate issues are expected to increase considerably in the coming year after the bumpy rides experienced in 2020 and 2021. A significant amount of digital acceleration would bring the supply chains closer to this goal. The rate at which digital adoption is happening, 2022 could be expected to be a year of extraordinarily resilient supply chains.

Better transparency could be expected: Transparency and visibility are the two most sought after attributes in a supply chain. Talking about supply chain services India, many companies have begun providing some sort of transparency to their customers with regards to the sustainability of their supply chains and the efforts undertaken to reduce their carbon footprint. Despite that, a lot more visibility is anticipated considering the shifting nature of global trade. Disclosing information in the form of timely reports or corporate disclosures for a variety of supply chain practices could be seen as a mandatory thing in the times to come.

Digital transformation would be the key to success: In order to provide better visibility and transparency, most companies would be integrating the blockchain technology into their supply chains. Blockchain technology aids in minimizing disruptions and improving customer experience. Through this technology, all components of a supply chain could be integrated into a single platform. The operations carried out by carriers, shipping lines, logistics providers, and forwarders would be more streamlined and it would be easier for supply chain people to identify issues much before they occur. Besides the blockchain technology, an extensive adoption of IoT is predicted in the coming year. IoT helps in providing improved visibility in inventory management, production, and predictive maintenance leading to a more efficient supply chain.

Automation through AI: Supply chains have witnessed considerable amount of automation through artificial intelligence already. The automation process could be expected to be more intense in 2022. Automation makes supply chains more efficient by reducing human errors. Through automation, it is also possible to predict purchase demands and manage inventory that otherwise require manpower.