The COVID-19 pandemic is the stress test that caught most organizations by surprise, and which offered very little time to prepare. Organizations have had to contend with sharp spikes and declines in consumer demand, production downtime, and supply and transport delays. Highlighting the impact of this volatility on supply chain risk, Mike Jackson, executive director at the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), says, “Supply chain risks have spiked on a number of fronts, fueled by workforce constraints, input shortages and liquidity issues, due to the slashing of production volumes and future forecasts.”1 The crisis has exposed the underlying complexities and vulnerabilities of global supply chains and illustrated the importance of a well-functioning supply chain.  

How prepared would organizations be if this sort of global crisis were to occur again? What are the critical elements in building supply chain resilience so that organizations are prepared for such a scenario and how can companies put them in place? To find answers to these questions, we surveyed 1,000 organizations from the consumer products, retail, discrete manufacturing and life sciences sectors. We also conducted a range of in-depth interviews with senior supply chain executives. 

Our research paints a worrying picture when it comes to supply chain resilience. Across sectors, supply chains have struggled to cope with the fallout of the crisis: close to seven out of 10 organizations have taken more than three months to restore operations. Moreover, when we looked at the capabilities that organizations will need to have to better handle a future crisis, we found that a very small minority are taking all the necessary actions to be crisis resilient. To understand the current state of play, and how to build the resilience needed to cope with future shocks, this research focuses on the following key themes: