PR in the supply chain industry: Three mega trends gaining momentum

The average person on the street might not fully appreciate the profound ramifications the supply chain industry has on everyday life. In recent years, one error with a logistics contract led to a swathe of KFCs being closed; a CO2 shortage threatened beer suppliers during a FIFA World Cup tournament; and a ship stuck in the Suez Canal disrupted the supply of everything from cheese to gardening equipment.

These events impacted everybody – meaning there can be a lot of media interest in supply chain-related stories. But what’s the next big story? Here are three mega trends building momentum and shaping the industry that we have been exploring with smart procurement expert Ivalua in recent months:

1) Constant disruption

The buzz word of the moment for supply chain professionals is ‘disruption’. The ever-increasing cadence of ‘Black Swan’ events – be it COVID-19, the war in Ukraine or Brexit – has seen supply chains come under more pressure than ever before. This kind of disruption can have a huge impact because in many cases, organisations do not understand their exposure to risk and don’t tend to have visibility of risk beyond their direct suppliers.

We’ve secured bylined articles in both City A.M. and Business Reporter for Ivalua, as well as spelling out how to minimise black swan events (with this resulting story in Supply Management).

2) Delivering on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)

There is also increasing pressure to improve ESG performance, with regulations in place to ensure organisations are doing their part. From the advent of the Green Claims Code and an upcoming requirement for listed UK businesses to publish net zero plans, to proposed updates to the Modern Slavery Act, failure to comply could involve millions in fines and even sentencing for the worst offenders.

This is another topic ripe for hijacking and commenting on, as it’s high up in the media agenda, especially with COP27 on the mind. This is another area we explored further as part of research for Ivalua – securing further coverage in Supply Management. We also had a byline on greenwashing appear in Business Reporter, plus a piece on COP26 and sustainability targets in Procurement Magazine. It’s also a great topic to track for the features programme, with insight on reducing waste included in The Times.

3) The finance / procurement gap

The uncertain economic outlook is also having a big impact on suppliers. Rising interest rates, inflation, and energy costs have made managing cash flow more important than ever. But an unintended consequence of this has been an increase in late payments to suppliers. This is putting them at risk of collapse, which in turn will mean organisations have to spend more time onboarding new suppliers and running the risk of supply chain disruption. Much of the problems with late payments comes down to a disconnect between procurement and finance.

We addressed this topic with an Ivalua byline, which was placed with Finance Digest. We’ve also explored this topic with research, leading to articles on the impact of late payments appearing in the likes of Market Watch and Supply Management.

Opportunity awaits

These are the key trends facing supply chains in the coming months, and areas the media are likely to focus on, especially as the next Black Swan event is likely just around the corner. Through these trends, we’ve been able to comment on topical news stories and get our clients in the right pieces to reach their key audiences. To learn more about how Spark can help, get in touch.