A recent study by Harvard Business Review dove into the size and complexity of average supply chains and revealed that supply chains are vast, deep, and ever-changing. When looking specifically at five chipmakers and seven automakers who partner together, the study found that there is an average of 90.5 intermediary firms each year. It also found that the supply network changes constantly. Not only that, but no industry works in a silo, partnering with only one set of suppliers or buyers—each works with numerous partners in multiple industries. Put together, the task of providing and accessing visibility in such a complex network is difficult to achieve.
At the same time, the study revealed that many global supply chains are made up of clusters, or communities. These tend to be dense connections within small communities. The end result in these scenarios is that some suppliers are more vulnerable to risk than others, particularly those that sit at the boundaries of communities. The researchers labeled these “high betweenness firms,” distributors or manufacturers that have diverse industry representation among their customers.
How complex is your supply chain?
