EY: C-Suite Executives Undervaluing Supply Chain Importance

The COVID-19 pandemic is, thankfully, moving firmly into the rearview mirror. 

The downside? Supply chain executives may be losing the strategic gains they made alongside their C-suite counterparts during the crisis, according to fresh research from EY. 

The consulting giant finds that, while 88% of supply chain executives report that their organisations’ supply chain plays a vital role in enhancing the customer experience, the same proportion of their C-suite colleagues view the supply chain function as a cost centre – one of a series of uncovered perception gaps. 

Ashutosh Dekhne, Supply Chain and Operations Practice Leader at EY Americas, explains: "The series of supply chain shocks that started with the pandemic elevated the role of supply chain leaders in the C-suite, but executive teams are increasingly reverting to outdated views of the supply chain as a cost centre rather than a growth engine.

“Our research uncovered concerning perception gaps between supply chain and C-suite executives around the value of supply chain, the digital maturity of supply chains and the value of cross-collaboration.”

Supply chain risks losing C-suite influence

EY’s 2024 Supply Chain Survey: Bridging the C-suite disconnect, surveyed supply chain leaders representing various industries whose companies record at least US$500m in annual revenue.

The research underscores an urgent need for a shift in how organisations view and invest in their supply chains to compete and thrive in an era of growing complexity and volatility.

Despite a heightened awareness of the importance of supply chains, more than three-quarters (78%) of supply chain leaders say their organisation has returned to focusing on supply chain cost management post-pandemic, with 28% citing cost reduction as one of the top three priorities currently – a shift from pandemic-era strategies.

What’s more, while C-suite leaders are eager to integrate technology across their organisations, they appear to underestimate the supply chain's role in this transformation.

Both sets of leaders identified modernisation as a top supply chain priority, but different levels of optimism exist here. Supply chain executives were more likely to believe their companies’ supply chains would be mostly autonomous by 2030 (39% vs. 25% C-suite), while C-suite colleagues were more likely to say it would take an additional 10 years (27% vs. 12% supply chain executives). 

In fact, around a quarter (26%) of the C-suite believe their organisations’ digital connectivity with suppliers is limited to email and sharing spreadsheets, which is significantly more than supply chain executives (16%) and highlights an underestimation of supply chain's progress in digital maturity.

Additionally, a notable gap in perception exists around the need for the supply chain to collaborate across functions and with external partners and customers, as well as the benefits greater collaboration brings to the wider business.  

About two in five (39%) supply chain executives admit one of the top challenges their organisation currently faces is proving the value of cross-functional collaboration.

Supply chain: A strategic growth driver

EY’s take is that supply chain leaders must work to reposition and elevate their role within the organisation by demonstrating how the benefits of technology-enabled supply chain capabilities go beyond mere cost reduction to enable growth, enhance competitiveness and support key business objectives.

"Differentiated supply chains are pivotal assets that drive revenue growth and organisational agility," continues Ashutosh.

"Supply chain executives must overcome the disconnects with their C-suite to reassert their place at the table and guide the trajectory for future innovation and expansion.”

Ashutosh and his fellow experts from the EY Supply Chain and Operations team have recommended a number of steps to reshape C-suite perceptions:

• Align supply chain metrics with business objectives: Nearly all (97%) supply chain leaders report facing challenges with supply chain metrics and only 44% currently track customer satisfaction as a KPI. EY advises: “Supply chain strategies should integrate metrics that reflect not just cost efficiency but also contributions to customer service, responsiveness and innovation.”
• Extend the impact of supply chain to include customer experience: Supply chain leaders are overlooking customer experience, with 84% admitting to spending more time focused on internal operations than customer needs and 76% prioritising creating new and innovative products over creating the best customer experience. EY says: “Supply chain leaders should integrate customer experience metrics into their reporting and communicate customer successes to their C-suite colleagues, highlighting how improvements drive growth and revenue.”
• Enable supply chain to lead organisational convergence: To enhance supply chain resiliency, 80% of supply chain leaders are improving internal cross-functional collaboration and 79% are improving cross-functional collaboration with external vendors. EY urges: “Continue to encourage and showcase the collaboration between supply chain functions and other departments and external partners to enhance transparency and align operations with business goals.”
• Cultivate a future-ready supply chain workforce: Addressing labour and skills shortages is a top-three priority for supply chain leaders. Closing the perceived digital maturity gap among C-suite executives will require supply chain professionals to be well-versed in the latest technologies and their applications within the supply chain.
• Go beyond resilience to achieve agility: While 87% of supply chain leaders say their organisation has made significant investments to improve supply chain resiliency, one-in-five (19%) admit that they remain unprepared to face supply chain disruptions due to supply shortages. EY’s advice is to: enhance supply chain visibility with robust data and analytics; use AI to foresee disruptions; keep business continuity plans current; and diversify supply sources, suppliers, manufacturing and logistics partners.

Check out the latest edition of Supply Chain Digital and sign up to our global conference series – Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE 2025. 

Supply Chain Digital is a BizClik brand.