Is Your Supply Chain Too Complex?

"Complexity is really a killer," said Roberto Isaias, Mattel's chief supply-chain officer, as quoted in a January 2, 2020 Wall Street Journal article by Paul Ziobro.

How would you characterize the complexity of your supply chain?

We asked members of our Indago supply chain research community -- who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies -- that question in January 2020, weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic started affecting supply chains worldwide.

The vast majority of our member respondents (82%) said their supply chains are at least "Moderately" complex, with 42% saying their supply chains are "Very" or "Extremely" complex.

Source: Indago survey, January 2020 (n=33)

As one supply chain executive member put it:

"Supply chain complexity is all part of the game. The most simple and uncomplicated supply chain would be one in which uniform gray cubes are manufactured and shipped, which wouldn’t be a very effective company. With variety comes complexity; understanding that complexity and reducing ambiguity or logjams should be the goal of the supply chain professional."

We also asked our members, "What are the biggest sources of complexity in your supply chain?" and "What is the biggest impact of supply chain complexity?"

For insights on those questions, please read the Indago blog post summarizing the results.

After two years of disruptions, are your supply chains still too complex? It might be time to revisit this topic with our Indago members.

Why Join Indago?

Here are a few testimonials from our members:

"Indago provides an opportunity for industry members to share insights into best practices and industry trends. I appreciate gaining these insights as well as the opportunity to share my own. The surveys never take more than 4 minutes and are relevant and timely."-- Senior Manager, Transportation at $1B+ Food & Beverage Company

"I decided to join Indago for two reasons. One is to be part of a group that provides real time feedback from companies on topics in the supply chain world. The second reason is that Indago supports charities that make the world a better place. It's a great one - two combination!" -- Director of Freight & Warehousing at $1B+ Food & Beverage Company

"When I was first contacted to join Indago my initial thought was I do not need another form of communication coming my way that I really do not have time to read. Because of the people involved I decided to take a chance and it has greatly helped me and my organization. I spend very little time answering the weekly surveys but I do get great information in return. I share the research results with my entire team which helps them understand different industries/opportunities. One of the other benefits is the wide range of survey topics, focusing on technology, processes and most importantly, people. I now find myself excited to get the results of each survey to see if others have the same issues or better, they have a great idea to solve it." -- VP of Operations at $100-$500M Retailer

If you're a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a manufacturing, retail, or distribution company -- and you're interested in learning from your peers -- I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-4 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes like JDRF, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.