Supply chain POWER: from cost-to-serve to competitive edge and resilience

By Sebastian Feldmann, Lukas Hofmann, Carsten Bock and Fabian Maier

Global supply chains are no longer just operational infrastructure - they are a critical determinant of business resilience and competitive advantage. Roland Berger's survey of senior supply chain executives across Europe shows that many organizations are still closing the gap between ambition and capability. This study introduces the POWER vision - five interconnected dimensions that define future-ready supply chains: Planned, Orchestrated, Well-informed, Empowered, and Resilient - and offers a clear call to action for leaders seeking to turn supply chain performance into lasting strategic advantage.

Global supply chains are operating in a fundamentally different environment. What was once perceived as a series of temporary disruptions — geopolitical tensions, raw material shortages, inflationary shocks, port congestion — has become a permanent operating condition. For companies that designed their supply chains around cost-to-serve optimization and the assumption of relative stability, the gap between past design principles and present realities is now a direct business risk. Roland Berger's research, based on a survey of senior supply chain executives across European industries including automotive, industrials, building materials, and consumer goods, confirms that many organizations are aware of what needs to change — but are still building the capabilities to act on it.

From box shipping to strategic asset

Survey respondents most frequently identify demand forecasting, supply chain disruptions, and inventory management as their most significant operational challenges. For the year ahead, resilience, end-to-end visibility, and cost management rank as the top priorities. A clear majority of participants also consider it highly important to elevate the supply chain function from an operational role to a strategic asset — a recognition that competitive advantage increasingly depends on the supply chain's ability to anticipate and absorb ongoing volatility.

The traditional cost-to-serve paradigm, while still relevant, is no longer sufficient as the primary operating principle. Modern supply chains must balance cost competitiveness with resilience and transparency. That shift requires more than incremental operational improvements — it calls for a fundamentally different approach to how supply chains are designed, governed, and managed.

The POWER vision: five dimensions of supply chain excellence

Roland Berger's POWER framework addresses this challenge through five interconnected characteristics that define future-ready supply chains.

Planned supply chains are anchored in corporate strategy and aligned with the overall business model. Planning is not a functional exercise performed in silos — it is a dynamic capability connected to broader business priorities. Yet the survey reveals that many organizations still rely on annual strategy reviews, limiting responsiveness in a volatile environment where conditions change continuously.

Orchestrated supply chains achieve genuine end-to-end network leadership. This means supply chain functions are embedded as strategic partners in decision-making — not relegated to operational and tactical discussions. It also means that suppliers and logistics partners are managed through performance-based collaboration models with shared KPIs, rather than fragmented bilateral arrangements. Network and partner reviews must be more frequent and more dynamic than the annual cycles that currently prevail.

Well-informed supply chains leverage real-time data and advanced analytics to drive fact-based, often automated decision-making. End-to-end visibility is cited as a top priority by 44% of respondents, and 75% rate data-driven decision-making as "very important." Yet only around one third apply AI and machine learning extensively in their operations. High costs, integration challenges, and a lack of skilled personnel remain the primary barriers — gaps that require deliberate investment to close.

Empowered supply chains operate with clear governance structures, well-defined roles, and the organizational authority to act decisively. Only 18% of companies currently grant their supply chain function full authority over network design and supplier decisions. In a volatile environment where speed of response is a competitive differentiator, this lack of autonomy is a structural vulnerability.

Resilient supply chains treat risk management as a design principle, not a reactive capability. The most advanced organizations manage risk across three time horizons simultaneously: deploying task forces for immediate response, managing risk in the medium term through structured processes, and embedding resilience into long-term network and product design decisions. Resilience also requires cultural foundations — a risk-aware mindset and a willingness to learn from disruptions at every level of the organization.

Turning POWER into impact

The study's findings make clear that building a future-ready supply chain is not a single intervention — it is a sustained commitment across all five dimensions. Organizations that strengthen planning, orchestration, data foundations, governance, and resilience in an integrated way are better positioned to navigate ongoing volatility and protect long-term competitiveness. Those that address only isolated dimensions will continue to face structural fragility whenever the next disruption arrives.

The full report provides detailed diagnostic data for each POWER dimension, a concrete call to action for supply chain and C-level leaders, and practical guidance on where to prioritize investment and capability building.

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