Autonomous Supply Chains as a Key to Greater Competitiveness

The economy of the DACH region is facing a number of challenges that are pushing traditional supply chain models to their limits. A shortage of skilled workers, high labor costs, geopolitical uncertainties, increasing pressure for greater sustainability, and rising expectations for faster, personalized deliveries – to remain competitive in this environment, companies must explore new avenues.

By: Matthias Hégelé

(Zurich) Autonomous supply chains offer a promising solution: they enable the optimization of processes, reduction of costs, strengthening of resilience, and achievement of sustainability goals simultaneously.

Autonomous supply chains are more than just the automation of individual processes. At their core, they involve the ability of systems to make independent decisions and perform tasks without human intervention. While traditional automation systems follow predefined instructions and require human oversight – comparable to a cruise control system in a car that maintains speed but leaves steering and braking to the driver – autonomous systems go beyond that. They utilize artificial intelligence to make complex decisions, orchestrate workflows, and optimize themselves.

Specifically, this means that in autonomous supply chains, many manual tasks – from production to storage to delivery – are carried out largely independently. By employing robotics, self-driving vehicles, resource planning systems, machine learning, and sensors, goods movements can be tracked in real-time, and transport routes or orders can be automatically optimized. Unlike traditional, linear supply chains that rely on fixed processes and human-made decisions, autonomous supply chains adapt flexibly to changing conditions. They analyze data to identify trends, minimize risks, and seize opportunities arising from specific situations. The result: a more efficient, agile, and resilient supply chain.

Autonomy as a Competitive Advantage

Leaders worldwide have long recognized the benefits of autonomous supply chains: According to a recent Accenture study, companies expect a 5% increase in their EBITA profits. Operationally, companies could reduce their order processing time by 27% and increase their labor productivity by 25% thanks to autonomous supply chains. Autonomous supply chains can also make a valuable contribution to achieving sustainability goals: the surveyed leaders expect a reduction in their companies’ CO2 emissions of about 16%. Finally, autonomous processes in supply chains strengthen companies’ resilience to cyberattacks, skilled labor shortages, geopolitically induced disruptions, extreme weather events, and raw material shortages. Leaders anticipate that response and recovery times in the event of disruptions will decrease by 62% and 60%, respectively. In times when supply chain disruptions are becoming more frequent and severe, such improved resilience is crucial.

The Role of Humans in the Autonomous Supply Chain

Contrary to the fear that automation destroys jobs, humans will continue to play a crucial role in autonomous supply chains. Instead of performing routine and repetitive tasks, employees will increasingly focus on strategic tasks: monitoring and controlling systems, analyzing data, identifying areas for improvement, and solving complex problems. This requires new skills and continuous training of the workforce – moving away from execution towards strategic leadership. The most effective autonomous supply chains will be those that enable seamless collaboration between humans and machines. Companies must therefore invest strategically in the retraining and education of their employees to prepare them for these new roles.

Supply Chains are Becoming Increasingly Autonomous

Autonomous supply chains are no longer a distant vision of the future but are already a reality in many areas today. However, we are still at the beginning of this transformation. While autonomous supply chains are already a topic for a quarter of leaders worldwide, the average degree of autonomy currently stands at only 16% (where a supply chain would be fully autonomous at 100%). This means that most companies are still heavily dependent on manual processes and human decisions. The good news, however, is that this is expected to change drastically in the coming years. Forecasts suggest that the degree of autonomy will rise to 42% within the next five to ten years. This shows: Autonomous supply chains are here to stay.

On the Way to the Autonomous Supply Chain

The DACH region is often at the forefront of implementing and adopting new technologies and processes as a globally recognized innovation hub. However, in the area of autonomous supply chains, the DACH region is currently more in the middle of the pack. While large companies such as Nestlé, ABB, or Syngenta are investing significantly in digitalization and automation, they often find themselves in the pilot stage regarding autonomous supply chains or have only scaled individual use cases instead of implementing end-to-end solutions.

One example is the collaboration between IKEA Switzerland and the ETH spin-off Verity: Since 2022, autonomous drones from Verity have been deployed in the IKEA warehouse in Spreitenbach (Zurich), which independently scan barcodes on pallets at night, thus reconciling the goods with the digital inventory. By automating this subprocess, IKEA can drastically reduce the manual effort required for inventory and error corrections.

Given the strong presence of industries such as discrete manufacturing, the automotive industry, and the high-tech sector, it can be expected that the potential of autonomous supply chains will increasingly be recognized in the DACH region as well. The DACH region is well-positioned internationally when it comes to adopting new technologies, and the high willingness to innovate, along with a strong research and development landscape, provides ideal conditions for the implementation of autonomous supply chains.

Autonomous supply chains are not just a technological evolution but a strategic necessity for companies that want to thrive in an increasingly complex and volatile world. By early adoption and consistent implementation of autonomous supply chains, companies in the DACH region have the opportunity to gain a significant competitive advantage. Those who actively shape this transformation will not only better tackle today’s challenges but also lay the groundwork for a successful and future-proof supply chain.

About the Study

Accenture’s study “Making autonomous supply chains real” examines the shift towards autonomous supply chains and the strategic considerations underlying this change. As part of the study, 1,000 executives from ten different industries in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region were surveyed.

Matthias Hégelé is Supply Chain & Operations Lead at Accenture DACH. Through his expertise and experience, he supports companies in overcoming complex challenges using innovative technologies and a focused team. His expertise particularly lies in optimizing global supply chains and operations, with a focus on the life sciences, consumer goods, agronomy, and chemicals industries. https://www.accenture.com/de-de