The basic supply and demand foundations of the consumer products and retail (CPR) sector has been massively shaken by the pandemic. Take digital acceleration. Online sales are expected to increase at their fastest rate in 12 years, accounting for 20% of all retail purchases in 2020.1 Grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential retail outlets ran out of stock as the crisis first hit, with consumers stocking up on staples, from toilet paper to hand sanitizers.  

The supply chain is bearing the brunt of these changes and disruptions. Sixty-six percent of organizations say they believe their supply chain strategy will change significantly in the next three years as they adapt to the pandemic post COVID-19. Key areas organizations are focusing on is investing in regionalizing and localizing their supplier and manufacturing base. Therefore, to understand the challenges that organizations face, and how they are responding, we launched a survey of more than 400 executives from CPR companies across eleven countries: China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US.