What was originally believed to be a temporary disruption has turned out to be an era of unforeseen upheaval for supply chains.In recent years the need to change was thrust upon all organizations - with no warning and no road map of what to do. Everyone faced the same challenges at the same time, so there were no case studies of companies who already tackled the same challenges to learn from.Supply chains currently “are efficient but brittle – vulnerable to breaking down in the face of a pandemic, a war or a natural disaster. Because of outsourcing, off-shoring and insufficient investment in resilience, many supply chains have become complex and fragile,” according to a 2022 Council of Economic Advisers report.From Backroom to BoardroomThe real value of reliable supply chains that not only address cost but also resilience has been one of the biggest mindset shifts to come out of the pandemic. The best companies are now not only looking at how to achieve stability, they are looking at their entire supply chains for areas where they can break new barriers.“The attention has shifted from it not only being a function that is valuable when something goes wrong but can really help us to be better,” said Knut Alicke, a partner at McKinsey & Co.Companies are expected to increase their investment in not only technology, but also in people who can make better strategic decisions.Re-evaluating Supplier RelationshipsOn the one hand there is a critical push to reduce reliance on a single country or on too few suppliers. On the other, there's a view for companies to find ways to strengthen relationships with their best suppliers.The idea is that by leveraging the trust and knowledge of what the buyer needs, a brand can achieve that sought-after agility.Thus many Chinese suppliers continue to open factories outside of China in order to give customers the benefit on not having all of their orders in one country.In other cases, brands are looking to enhance existing supplier relationships through closer cooperation, while still keeping production in the same country.This increasingly means leaning on suppliers to do more of the inspections and take a more active role in the design process.Shortening Supply ChainsPreviously China had the competitive advantage of having an entire supply chain - from fiber to finished garments - in one country. Now brands are looking at opportunities that have emerged in countries like India, Thailand, Indonesia and even Pakistan that have domestic supply chains that include spinning to finished garments. The price might be higher than Bangladesh, Vietnam or Cambodia, however having all the materials on hand saves time, is more reliable and is more transparent - which can translate into savings down the road by avoiding late deliveries, offering more flexibility and reducing the cost of transporting materials into the country. A growing number of companies are starting to include this in their total cost calculations.Next Gen Planning will Rely on AIResiliency comes down to being able to quickly and agilely react to unforeseen events so that you lose as little value as possible.Certainly the last three years have shown us that the unexpected can show up and that we need to be prepared.This can be achieved by improving end-to-end processes (to ensure decisions are considered within a broader context), deploying asset capacities across the value chain (such as adding warehouses and trucks as necessary), and deploying planning capabilities that incorporate these uncertainties, said McKinsey & Co.“The next generation of end-to-end planning processes will be fundamentally different from today’s. AI can help balance efficiency and resilience by incorporating uncertainty into realistic simulations of reality to help organizations evaluate scenarios and identify risks. AI can also find optimal plans for different time horizons.Transparency Becomes A Key StrategyDespite the advancements in digitization throughout supply chains, there still remain too many blind spots. This is especially true for complex supply chains like apparel. One of key developments going forward is the digitization of logistics, which will give brands a clearer view of their supply chains after orders have left the factory and before they are received at the brand’s distribution center."As manufacturing organizations battle today's crisis and work to avoid the next one, modernizing procurement technology has emerged as a top priority. The right technology can help provide the transparency needed to better assess risk and contingency options, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of collaboration with suppliers," said Alex Saric, CMO of Ivalua.