RESEARCH REPORT
In brief
2021 technology trends to watch
Survey results say...
81%
of supply chain executives say the pandemic has been their organization’s largest stress test.
64%
report the pace of digital transformation for their organization is accelerating.
81%
agree they’re facing technological changes at unprecedented speed and scale.
42%
Cloud (42%) is the number-one technology currently being scaled up by supply chain executives, nearly all (93%) executives expect 50% or more of their business to be in the cloud over the next three years.
36%
AI (36%) is second only to cloud as the top technology being scaled.
69%
of supply chain executives expect their organization’s investment in digital twins to increase in the next three years.
30%
of executives are most likely to report they’re using digital twins to improve operations
38%
Only 38% of supply chain executives believe their organization’s non-technical workforce is ready to leverage the technology tools they’re given.
78%
plan to invest in training employees who don’t have the requisite expertise.
85%
of supply chain executives agree they will move to a truly virtualized work environment where there will be more remote work.
84%
of supply chain executives believe the remote workforce opens up the market for difficult-to-find talent and expands the competition for talent among organizations.
87%
of supply chain executives agree that multiparty systems are poised to become the center of commerce, supply chain, and transactions among partners and customers
62%
of supply chain executives said they can only operate in the short term without multiparty systems, while 21% said they can’t operate at all without them.