In late 2022, APQC carried out a quick poll of 278 manufacturing organizations about the use of
advanced analytics in supply chain. ‘Advanced analytics’ refers to technology-enabled, complex processes of examining large and varied data sets to uncover key trends, unknown correlations, customer preferences, and more to make better-informed business decisions. 

A majority of respondents (83 percent) have seen their organizations increase financial investments in advanced analytics over the past three years, and a third of respondents (34 percent) say these investments have increased significantly. By contrast, only four percent of respondents report seeing decreased investments in analytics.

Broadly speaking, organizations find analytics in supply chain to be a good investment. Almost all respondents (97 percent) report that advanced analytics is at least moderately effective in their organizations, with about two-thirds (65 percent) saying advanced analytics is extremely or very effective. 

Given the benefits of advanced analytics, it would make sense to see widespread adoption of analytics-driven technologies across supply chain organizations. Unfortunately, many organizations find adopting and using analytics to be a significant challenge. 

APQC finds that many of the biggest hurdles to widespread adoption are rooted in a lack of adequate change management. For example:

• 43 percent cite a lack of a compelling business case for advanced analytics and
• 42 percent say resistance to change is a major hurdle to widespread adoption. 

To adopt and implement analytics effectively, organizations need to be ready with a change management plan that includes a strong business case. However, challenges like these make it clear that many organizations may be missing this critical piece of the puzzle.

Organizations today have more data than they would ever be able to process manually. Advanced analytics helps organizations sift through this data and provides critical intelligence for better decisions, faster responses to disruption, and reduced equipment downtimes. While they were once a competitive differentiator, analytics-driven tools and technologies are increasingly becoming “table stakes” for competing at all. Organizations that continue to dither about whether analytics is a good investment and those that struggle with change management are increasingly being left behind.

Download APQC's article on Assessing the Current State of Advanced Supply Chain Analytics.

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