Clarkston’s Wesley Ange and Sebastian Valencia attended the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo™ earlier this week, joining industry peers, chief supply chain officers (CSCOs), and supply chain executives to discuss navigating supply chain uncertainty and driving future readiness. At this year’s expo, topics revolved heavily around volatility in today’s supply chain and how to prepare for (and navigate) disruptions. It was shared that there’s an average of 17 unfamiliar high-impact risk events each year, some costing leaders more than $1M due to those disruptions. How can supply chain leaders ensure future readiness with a measured and strategic response? How does that affect decision-making for supply chain leaders? Our team heard from industry peers and leaders about how to keep supply chain strategies on track despite everything going on in today’s volatile landscape. Below, we share our thoughts on navigating supply chain uncertainty and dive into other key themes from this year’s Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo™. 

3 Key Themes for Navigating Supply Chain Uncertainty 

1. Optionality & Scenario Planning: Traditional Forecasting Isn’t Enough 

The pace of disruption in today’s economy is relentless. With an average of 2.5 major shocks per month shaking U.S. markets, rigid supply chain strategies are quickly becoming liabilities. CEOs no longer want fixed solutions; they expect CSCOs to present multiple, viable paths forward that align with short- and long-term business realities. Traditional forecasting based on historical data is no longer sufficient; now, the new standard is modeling extremes and identifying persistent truths across scenarios.  

Businesses can gain a competitive edge through advanced visibility and scenario planning. According to Gartner, 88% of supply chain leaders agree that operational scenario planning is valuable, but only 19% are actually doing it. CSCOs and their teams must shift their approach from reactive problem-solving to proactive scenario planning, “bringing the future to the present” by mapping multiple potential futures, not just optimizing one, and finding the supply chain that works the best across various scenarios. One session used the term “extensive experimenting” to describe this. 

Clarkston’s “Bring the Future to the Present” (BF2P) methodology supports scenario-based strategies, helping design plausible features and anchor strategies in common threads. Rather than chasing false certainty, this approach recognizes that businesses must prepare for a spectrum of possible futures. By examining extremes and pinpointing key elements that remain true across all scenarios, organizations can develop core capabilities that ensure long-term viability.  

2. Building Resilience Through Agility and Flexibility 

Another key topic was building resilience. Resilient supply chains aren’t static. Rather, they adapt through people, flexible processes, and modular systems that enable quick pivots. With resilience being the #1 CSCO priority for the next two years (Gartner), supply chains have to shift from rigid models to adaptable ones. 

During Ken Chadwick’s keynote, he mentioned that people are the key to enabling that agility and flexibility – remember, assets can’t improvise, but people can. Bring people along for the journey was a theme in almost every session. Projects rolling out new technology must have an organizational change management approach. The way of operating is changing, and without a strategy, change will be met with resistance. On top of an OCM strategy, the continued success will be dependent on sustaining the culture change and a well-thought through learning management approach, which also must include the how and the why for all employees. 

CSCOs who thrive will be those who plan effectively, have the right people along for the journey, and adapt a flexible, forward-thinking mindset – not those who just “guess right.” 

3. Technology Enablement and Data 

Supply chain innovation has a high impact on business outcomes — enhancing supply chain resilience, cost reduction, service level, productivity, and revenue growth.  But innovation isn’t about adopting tech for tech’s sake. And it is not just about the tech. In many cases, focusing on improved business processes is the right place to begin, as this is often a faster way to positively impact the business. Updated business processes will also support your search for enabling technology. 

The other consideration that comes with technology is data cleanliness and accuracy. Every technology project shared at the conference emphasized the importance of good data to enable better decision-making. Without accurate data, your company is set up to make the same (or possibly worse) decisions faster, instead of gaining new insights. It doesn’t stop with the project; this isn’t a one-time effort. Maintaining clean and accurate data must become part of business as usual. 

With good process and accurate data, CSCOs are prepared to invest in targeted, high-impact use cases that enable greater agility and decision-making. 

Final Thoughts 

Today’s marketplace volatility and uncertainty mean that supply chain leaders must take a flexible and adaptable approach to supply chain strategy. If you’re looking for a partner to help you on this journey – or if you’re interested in chatting about any of the above themes from this year’s Gartner Symposium/Xpo, connect with us today.