After surveying nearly 400 supply chain executives in 25 countries, IT giant IBM has come to the conclusion that the main problem they face is that they can’t make sense of all the data they have.

Released yesterday, IBM’s study The Smarter Supply Chain of the Future cites overwhelming and fragmented data as the number one challenge that those working within supply chains face.

And within retail, this is not a problem that’s unique to those working in the supply chain. Companies have spent years and millions amassing information and creating data streams in all areas of their businesses, as they try to work out what’s going on and improve on it.

The problem is that early supply chain technology projects created lots of information, without thinking about how to join it up.

Most of the supply chain people in the study say that fixing the problem is a low priority — not because it wouldn’t be extremely beneficial to their business, but rather because it is costly, difficult, silos are worse than ever and they are just too busy.

None of this sounds terribly optimistic. And it didn’t quite chime with what’s going on in UK retail, where there seems to be no end of interest in ways to improve supply chain processes and join up the data dots where this can allow costs to be cut.

So it’s pleasing to see one interesting conclusion from IBM’s study, which is that the supply chain leadership function will become more strategic.

Most of the executives interviewed are currently overseeing traditional functions like distribution and logistics, demand/supply planning, and sourcing and procurement. But IBM notes that some are beginning to rise to the level of a chief supply chain officer, directing strategy through supply chain execution.

This is a trend that’s already beginning to be reflected in the UK, and one that should put an end to the excuses about why people don’t know what’s going on in their own business.

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