Yes, it’s that time of year again! It’s time we look ahead with hope for a successful wrap to peak season and consider the trends influencing the year ahead. The last few years have been anyone’s guess, but recent data shows us optimistic points on the horizon as we head towards 2023. 

Even though supply chain disruptions are fading, there’s new questions to address – the backlog of orders are making their way through distribution and to the retail floor, but what will happen to the demand? 

Supply chain predictions for 2023

So, what does 2023 have in store? Three areas to focus on will be related to productivity, visibility and the direction of global markets. 

More focus on productivity and uptime

The struggle to have enough workers has been a topic since the start of the pandemic. The worker shortage will be compounded by internal pressures to control operating expenses – with the infamous “more with less” phrase increasing in both frequency and volume. How do you prove operating expenses are already controlled? By demonstrating productivity.

You know your teams are already working hard. They’ve been executing and carrying the load even as some of their peers have moved on. How can you help them be even more productive? You need to maximize their uptime. 

Preventative maintenance on your operational tech stack will certainly be part of this because few things weigh down your workers more than being idled by malfunctioning tools. 

Expect to invest some time, and hopefully you’re already doing so during this peak season, to clear bottlenecks and streamline processes to keep them running at full speed. Anything you can do to keep tasks in motion will help get you to the numbers you need.

Real-time insights more important 

Numbers will to continue to be the name of the game in 2023. Data on its own is just a bunch of numbers until analysis delivers the necessary KPIs. The challenge is that there is a lot of data but tying all those numbers together gives you the information to locate problems, and it’s not just a traditional KPI.

According to VDC research, 46% of respondents named faster delivery the top challenge they are facing. Imagine being able to simultaneously alert a driver that a package didn’t make the truck it was supposed to be on, and the distribution center so the missed package can be prioritized, picked and brought to the dock for immediate action. 

2023 is going to extend the conversation around real-time insights to improve operations.

Economic conditions will improve

The supply chain catch-up has led to plenty of inventory on some goods. Retailers are offering big discounts on goods that have high inventory as they work to get inventory off the books during the shopping season. With the latest reports suggesting inflation may begin to ease, these discounts should only help the downward trend. 

The results? Global markets will begin to stabilize, albeit slowly, leaving geopolitical risk as the remaining anchor on markets that will otherwise be ready to return to a normal economic recovery by mid-2023.

So, as 2022 wraps up, on behalf of the entire Ivanti Wavelink team, we wish you all a successful peak season. We’re looking forward to navigating these topics and all that 2023 delivers with you. Stay productive and have a wonderful holiday season!