Consumers demanding supply chain visibility and performance

According to a global survey, 78% of consumers want to receive updates on the status of their orders when purchasing goods, and they won't hesitate to switch brands if supply chain performance fails to meet their expectations. 

The survey, conducted in February by YouGov and sponsored by Infor, a leading provider of industry-specific cloud applications, polled 6,285 consumers, including a nationally representative sample of consumers in France (1,016), Germany (2,105), the UK (2,035) and the United States (1,129).

Seventy-eight percent of consumers surveyed expect to receive updates on the status of their orders. Of that group, nearly half (49%) of consumers said Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) information – and a further 29% said real-time location information – is most important to know, when waiting for a purchase to be delivered at home or to a pickup location.

Further, the survey showed that consumers will switch brands if supply chain performance doesn't keep pace with their expectations.

According to the survey, it can suggest that consumers are more likely to switch brands related to their day-to-day needs, including groceries (59%), household products (53%), fashion/footwear (40%), and health & beauty products (37%).

However, even in product categories such as high-tech (35%), furniture (32%) and automotive (19%), consumers indicated that they would switch brands if supply chain performance faltered.

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Infor had sponsored a similar YouGov survey in 2016.

“In 2016, we asked similar questions and at that time, among millennials (18-34), fashion was rated number one," said Greg Kefer, Vice President of Marketing for the Infor GT Nexus Commerce Network.

“Now, we are seeing categories such as food and beverage and consumer products rank ahead of fashion, with high-tech not far behind. This is an indication that consumer expectations are on the rise across product categories."

“In our business, supply chain visibility is frequently cited as a foundational element of innovation and transformation,

“Companies must be able to 'see' across the vastness of their global supply chains, so they can identify gaps and make improvements.”