A new study from Resilinc reveals that supply chain disruptions were up 88% year-over-year, with 90% of disruptive events being human-caused.
The top sources of supply chain disruptions in 2021, the top six were:
- Factory Fires
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Business Sales
- Factory Disruptions
- Leadership Transitions
- Supply Shortages
The group sent out 1,946 factory tire alerts last year, the most ever recorded in a single year. It was an increase of 129% year-over-year. The uptick is due mostly to gaps in regulatory and process execution as well as a shortage of skilled labor in warehouses.
Of course disruptions due to supply shortages are well known, and the group found this category increased 452% year-over-year, this is the largest increase across all the event types. The group sent out 491 alerts regarding shortages of semiconductor chips, plastics, paper, and raw materials. These shortages are driving consolidations, mergers, and business sales as companies look to give a quick cash boost to the core business or optimize the supply chain to best serve the customer base, the group noted.
With regard to potential supply chain disruptions to customers, the group sent out 11,642 alerts, which represents an 88% increase over 2020. Of these potential disruptions 7,025, or 60%, were impactful enough to trigger the creation of a WarRoom—virtual platforms in the Resilinc dashboard where customers and their suppliers communicate and collaborate to assess and resolve disruptions. In 2021, WarRoom creation was up 105% year-over-year due mostly to pandemic, labor, and supply shortage disruptions pushing supply chain teams to develop contingency plans, including finding alternate suppliers.
Additional data revealed in the report includes the number of disruptions by region: North America experienced the most supply chain disruptions (5,417), followed by Europe (2,838), and Asia (2,128).
While human health disruptions - which include COVID-19 related lockdowns and restrictions - fell 68% year-over-year, Resilinc has continued to designate the event as “severe.” It’s the first time in the company’s history ranking an event at that level of impact.
Additional data shows:
- Labor disruption events increased 156% year-over-year
- Extreme weather events increased 130% year-over-year
- Cyber attack events increased 143% year-over-year
