While automation, regionalization, and digitization are slow coming and are not likely to influence monetary policy much now, supply chain strategists everywhere are developing them as strategies to build resilience.

Digital transformations are targeting business model transformation and sustainability as top priorities, says Boston Consulting Group. Prose and Deere show how tech not only creates enterprise value, but also enables sustainability.

Two megatrends have been gradually reshaping supply chain strategy for the last two decades: the digitization of demand, and climate change. But as powerful as these forces are, the pace of change has been glacial. COVID, China, and the great “supply chain crisis” of the last few years may be the final straw. The world is “reshoring” manufacturing, but it is also staying in China for the long run.

Political leaders will not be our climate change saviors, as demonstrated by the disappointing outcomes of COP27. Instead, we should turn to supply chain leaders, who obsess over measurement and simply can’t resist a target.

As we approach the end of a challenging year, building resiliency into digital roadmaps is a top priority for organizations. But how will the investments made now fare once growth picks back up? Now more than ever, digital roadmaps should focus on enabling operational agility.

Kicking off COP27, former Vice President Al Gore described the need for private sector financing of renewable energy investments to usher in a “sustainability revolution” worldwide. Supply chain leaders can drive this investment with industry cooperation as the key to overcoming structural hurdles.