Supply chains focusing on ecosystem partnerships, sustainability, automation, says Gartner

Supply chain partners are creating ecosystem partnerships to tackle big issues such as sustainability and climate change, according to Gartner's latest supply chain Hype Cycle.

In addition, supply chains are increasingly being connected by machine customers, a nonhuman economic actor that obtains goods and services via machines or replenishment algorithms, said Gartner.

Ecosystem partnerships and machine customers were two of three new additions to Gartner's 2022 Supply Chain Hype Cycle. Gartner noted in a press release that the additions highlight how supply chains are changing.

Indeed, sustainability has become more intertwined with supply chains since both functions can save money amid disruptions and inflation. Technologies such as Execution Management and Process Mining are being used to optimize processes and automate tasks.

More: What is Procurement? The process and KPIs that matter | How ALDI SÜD plans to turn sustainability and logistics into a win-win

According to Gartner, supply chain ecosystem partnerships are likely to plateau in 2 to 5 years. Machine customers will take more than 10 years to plateau. Here's a look at the overall Hype Cycle for Supply Chain Strategy.

Not surprisingly, Gartner's Hype Cycle for Supply Chain Strategy includes technologies based on analytics, optimization, resilience and risk management.

Gartner's latest on supply chain follows May's list of top 25 corporate supply chains, which ranked Cisco Systems No. 1. That release outlined four emerging trends that put the Chief Supply Chain Officers at the center of ecosystem coordination, agility, sustainability and automation.

Related:

• Supply chain optimization, sustainability are blending together

• Why optimizing truck pickup, delivery processes are so important

• Webinar: Process Excellence to Unleash Sustainability Performance

• 6 steps to operationalize sustainability

• Proposed SEC rules could accelerate sustainability data collection

• How inflation, supply chain and sustainability could drive efficiency gains

Larry Dignan

Editor in Chief (former)

Larry Dignan is the former Editor in Chief of Celonis Media. Before joining Celonis, he was Editor in Chief of ZDNet and has covered the technology industry and transformation trends for more than two decades, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine.