If retailer’s thought 2020’s supply chain woes during the pandemic were over, they’re mistaken. According to industry experts and analysts, the 2021 holiday season has just begun and suppliers and retailers are already facing delayed shipments and stratospheric freight prices.
Last year, retailers did make temporary adjustments to rapidly move their store online and consumers adapted. But both suppliers and retailers have not realized that online shopping has almost become a permanent consumer preference, and as the holiday season begins there is a lot of ecommerce activity. Combine this unpreparedness with worrisome weather conditions and high transportation costs, and we get a cascading effect on product availability and wait time.
As per an ACG Global report, only 18% of organizations surveyed have adopted technology platforms to address their supply challenges since 2020. The same survey also revealed that 41% of these organizations have been facing supply chain challenges such as delayed/cancelled orders, inventory shortage, lack of proper tools to capture and analyze data, high transportation costs etc.