2020 State of the Wholesale Supply Chain Survey

We’re conducting a brief survey to inquire about your 2020 inventory and supply chain planning initiatives to compete in today’s complex wholesale environment. We want to hear what’s important to you! Complete the survey by November 1st to be entered into a drawing to win an Apple Series 5 Watch!

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* 1. Which of the following describes the challenges your organization currently faces or will face in the short-term (next three years) in your inventory planning and forecasting environment? (Rank all that apply with 1 being most valuable)

Complex patterns of customer demand

Increasing volatility of demand (new competition, new customers, digital ecommerce)

Managing new product introductions

Handling event/promotional activities

Increasing supplier collaboration needs

Lack of internal processes and tools

Long lead times

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* 2. Do your current SCP & inventory optimization processes position you to take advantage of the macro economic trends/challenges such as rising inflation, rising cost of goods due to tariffs, etc.?

Yes

Partially

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* 3. Which of the following business trends have you seen in your supply chain in the last year? (Select all that apply)

Increased lead time due to transportation capacity challenges

Greater increases in transportation or labor costs compared to recent year-over-year increases

Higher lead time variability

Greater increases in cost of items (purchase prices) compared to recent year-over-year increases

The ability to pass on higher costs to customers

None apply

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* 4. Have you evaluated/modified your inventory strategy in light of freight transportation cost?

Yes

Not applicable

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* 5. Have you tried using machine learning techniques within forecasting and supply chain planning processes?

Yes, and it was beneficial

Yes, but not sure of the value add

No, but want to use it

Currently no plans to use it

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* 6. Of all the demand forecasting and supply chain planning processes, which remain a pain point in your ability to achieve your business goals? (Select all that apply)

Demand classification

Product lifecycle forecasting

Seasonal profile management

Event/promotion forecasting

Multi-level/ top-down & bottom-up forecast reconciliation

Slow mover management

Integrated business planning

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* 7. Which of these inventory planning capabilities do you currently have and use? (Select all that apply)

Understanding the cost impact of providing incremental service levels

Ability to offer differentiated service level based on item importance or client

Ability to dynamically evaluate the action plan because of demand changes

Ability to reconcile sales, purchasing and financial plans to a consensus plan

None of the above

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* 8. In the last year, on average, what percentage of the demand could not be fulfilled from current on-hand inventory or supplies?

Always had the quantity

0.1 - 2%

2.1 - 4%

More than 4%

Don’t know

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* 9. What is your current days of supply on-hand?

Less than 7 days

8-18 days

19-30 days

31-60 days

61-80 days

81 days or more

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* 10. What was your YOY sales growth?

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* 11. What was your YOY inventory growth?

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* 12. How do you currently measure supply chain planning and inventory optimization success? (Select all that apply)

Customer service level

Inventory turns

Days of supply on-hand

Improved forecast accuracy

Inventory dollars

Sales revenue

Less manual intervention

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* 13. What are your organization’s top priorities? (Rank all that apply with 1 being most valuable)

Improve internal collaboration

Improve visibility and external collaborations

Reduce inventory

Increase revenue growth

Align supply chain planning with business strategy

Improve productivity

Improve cash flow

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* 14. Have you achieved last year’s business goal? (Select all that apply)

Yes, we have achieved/exceeded all our last year business goal

Met/exceeded sales goals

Achieved inventory goals

Achieved customer service goals

Achieved return on investment goals

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* 15. Do your current processes and tools provide advanced capabilities to strategize the right product pricing considering business outcomes such as how to maximize market share, maximize profit, etc.

Yes, we have the capabilities to effectively manage our business

Yes, we have the tools but they are not yielding the desired results

No, that is not one of our pain points

Not applicable to our business or we don’t see the value of those capabilities

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* 16. Does your current supply chain planning software provide holistic actionable insights on the state of your business, customer metrics, inventory (source of inventory), demand (including lost sales), financial and service implications

Yes, and we are fully using those capabilities

Somewhat, but we still use mostly outside analysis

Does not provide what we want

Not applicable

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* 17. What are you top pricing issues? Select all that apply.

Access to historical pricing data

Market or competitive price analysis

Understanding and forecasting impact of price changes

Determining hidden costs that impact pricing (returns, discounts, shipping, etc.)

Approval of pricing overrides

Achieving desired financial objectives (profit margin, revenue, market share) via price changes

Vendor price negotiation and compliance

New product introduction pricing

Other (please specify)

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* 18. How important is pricing to your supply chain planning and inventory management processes?

Very important, these processes are integrated at our company.

Very important, we are working on integrating these processes.

Somewhat important, there is limited integration between these processes.

Not important