Global independent research and advisory firm, Manufacturing Insights, an IDC company, recently carried out a global supply chain survey to identify supply chain priorities on a global and regional basis within manufacturing and retail industry segments. One of the findings: "European companies need to transform their supply chain into an agile supply network in order to be able to respond in real time to signs of changing demand," said Pierfrancesco Manenti, EMEA research director, Manufacturing Insights.

In order to do that, firms need to establish a deeper collaboration with suppliers as a way to improve responsiveness across the entire value chain, according to the study.

A further comparison between Western and Eastern Europe reveals that innovation plays an essential role in Western Europe, while the importance of quality and customer satisfaction is a prerequisite for market growth for Eastern Europe.

If on the one hand the pace of innovation differentiates Western European firms from their Eastern European counterparts, the overall challenge for Western companies is trying to balance efforts in reaching contrasting business objectives of:

• Reducing overall cost and improving productivity (64.85%)
• Increasing quality and customer satisfaction (64.24%)
• Innovating in new or existing products and services (64.24%)

On the other hand, firms from Eastern Europe are operating in the global marketplace and, in order to compete, are placing a particular effort in increasing product quality and customer satisfaction, which in the past has been considered a weakness.

About this study

More information on this survey findings will be disclosed during a complimentary live Webcast on the 11th of October will discuss main findings coming from this study. To register, contact IDC or Manufacturing Insights.

This report, European Supply Chain Innovation: Responsiveness Through Collaboration (Doc #MISC02P), by Pierfrancesco Manenti, Giacomo Laurini, Kimberly Knickle and Christopher Holmes, leveraging more than 290 European respondents, out of 823 globally, provides an insight into supply chain strategies on various industry segments.

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