CONCLUSION
A few years ago, a study published in the Harvard Business Review reported that CEOs spent 1% of their time with suppliers. The narrative within our industry was that, given that suppliers account for ~70% of organizational expenditure, this was way too little.
While not a directly comparable statistic, our report showcases that in 2024, CEOs are spending more and more time on supply chain-related topics. A huge 96% plan to spend at least as much time as last year and 55% more time. How much time? 66% estimate more than 10% of their working week, and within that, 32% estimate more than a day a week.
What can we take from this and the other responses within the 2024 Barometer? The challenges that suppliers pose and address are now clearly seen as business-impacting topics. Ones which deserve a significant proposition of the CEOs attention.
In some cases, we’re talking about significant structural changes to supply chains to build resilience, alongside managing costs, maintaining competitive advantage through adopting AI and tech innovations, and keeping up with regulatory pressures around sustainability, among other things.
What’s more, the responses suggest few magic formulas or silver bullets. Different strategies are being deployed, and as the difficult operating environment persists, there will undoubtedly be a renewed and bold focus on operating costs that will reduce any financial stress and enable investment in solutions. For now, the CEOs' eyes are very firmly on supply chains.
If you are facing up to volatility in your value chain, then talk to one of our team today to understand how Proxima can help you perform at your very best.
Proxima brings together an experienced team, a diverse skill set, and current market insights to offer our customers procurement and supply chain expertise that helps to accelerate purposeful and profitable change.
The Proxima Supply Chain Barometer 2024 is based on a survey of 3,000 (1,000 UK, 1,000 US, 500 Benelux & 500 DACH) CEOs employing at least 50 people, conducted by Opinion Matters.
