Accenture ‘s Next stop, next-gen  study revealed that companies with more advanced supply chains achieve 23% more revenue than their competitors. This analysis also highlighted a worrying lack of maturity in many organizations, limiting their ability to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI.

In that sense, Max Blanchet, Accenture Global Strategy Leader for Supply Chains and Operations, commented that “leaders are investing heavily in increasingly sophisticated technologies, especially AI and generative AI, to build the next generation of IT capabilities.” supply chain. These capabilities are essential to reinvent supply chains in terms of efficiency, agility, sustainability and resilience.”

According to Accenture, supply chain maturity is defined by companies’ ability to use advanced technologies such as generative AI and machine learning for autonomous decision-making and continuous improvement.

The study shows that “leading” companies (the 10% with the highest score on the maturity scale) achieved margins 23% higher than their counterparts between 2019 and 2023, and offered 15% more returns to shareholders.

These companies are also six times more likely to use generative AI in their supply chains, enabling them to generate additional business value.

Generative AI in supply chains allows inventory optimization, transportation planning and scheduling, production optimization, risk detection, supplier management, among others.

Despite these advances, the report reveals an alarming picture: the average supply chain maturity remains low , at just 36 percent. This figure varies significantly by industry and country, being 22% in Mexico and 52% in Japan.

Melissa Twining Davis, head of Global Supply Chain Operations at Accenture, explained that “if we compare supply chain maturity to the evolution of navigation, from following the stars to driving semi-autonomous vehicles, many of us are still managing supply chains.” supply with a mix of paper maps and first-generation satellite navigators.”

The report also highlights that only 9% of all companies widely use AI and generative AI in their supply chains, compared to 37% of leaders.

Furthermore, Max Blanchet added that “companies with a supply chain maturity score of 25% or lower, almost one in three companies, must act quickly to catch up. Otherwise, they run a real risk of not surviving in today’s new economic and industrial context.”

It should be noted that to carry out the study, 1,148 companies from 15 countries, including Mexico, the United States and Japan, were evaluated in 10 industries and was based on a survey carried out in October 2023 among more than three thousand executives of the supply chain.

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