The supply chain has been the focus of attention for many years now, and for good reason. All of us depend on it, whether we work as a custodian at a preschool or as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. While many experts might expound on trends, tips, and hacks (like we do!), we think it’s also helpful to review the supply chain trends of 2024 so we can learn from our own experience to give us a better understanding of where we stand.
This year, we’ve seen three key themes dominate the conversation: modernizing technology, optimizing labor, and navigating the complexities of mergers and acquisitions. These aren’t just isolated challenges—they represent a microcosm of what’s really happening across the supply chain industry today. Here’s how our projects reflect these broader trends and what they mean for the future.
Supply Chain Trends of 2024: Out with the old
While a WMS may serve a company for 10-20 years, the time will eventually come when a replacement is needed, and transitioning from an old system to a new one brings its challenges. For many companies making the switch, one of the biggest complaints is the loss of flexibility and specificity—especially for operations moving from an on-premise solution to a cloud-based one—primarily due to the loss of endless customizations.
When making this switch, many operations make the mistake of trying to replicate the old system within the parameters of the new one. Unfortunately, that simply won’t work. A new plan of attack is needed to align with what the new technology offers. What may seem at first like limitations may, in fact, be a series of necessary process changes.
This year, we partnered with a major hardware distributor facing the fallout of a failed WMS implementation. Faulty replenishment, broken voice-picking integration, inefficient picking processes, delayed orders, and inaccurate inbound container processing were creating chaos. The core issue? They were relying on the vendor to solve these problems—a role the vendor simply wasn’t equipped to handle. It was clear our client needed a new strategy, one that aligned their processes with the capabilities of the system instead of waiting for fixes that were taking too long.
After reviewing their operational processes and open tickets with the software vendor, we designed a strategy to tackle the client’s backlog of receipts, ship orders on time, and align labor costs with sales. As technology continues to evolve, these transitions will only become more frequent. Having a plan in place to ensure the switch goes smoothly will remain critical in the supply chain space to avoid delays, inefficiencies, and lost revenue.
Supply Chain Trends of 2024: Optimizing labor
We’ve been talking about a tight labor market for years, and chances are the trend will only continue. In response, many companies are turning to advanced WMS solutions to maximize their labor force. At Cornerstone Edge, we’ve found that operations considering a new WMS often benefit from implementing an LMS first. This approach allows companies to stabilize their labor force and meet current operational demands before tackling the complexities of a WMS rollout.
For example, a medical services company initially engaged us to identify the best WMS for their operations. After a comprehensive evaluation of their business requirements and Distribution Center (DC) needs, we recommended starting with an LMS implementation across all sites within the next year. This strategy would give the company a solid foundation to optimize labor and maintain efficiency. Once the LMS was successfully deployed, they could shift focus to integrating a new WMS to support their long-term growth.
The labor force in a warehouse or DC is a company’s most valuable asset. Implementing ways to improve efficiency, give employees autonomy and accountability, and a way to grow will only help companies more easily recruit and retain employees.
Supply Chain Trends of 2024: Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers, divestitures, and acquisitions (M&A) can present significant challenges in supply chain management. Despite a failure rate of 70–75%, they occur frequently, often requiring complex operational transitions. One of our biggest projects this year involved addressing just such a challenge.
When a parent company managing several leading brands in the sporting and outdoor lifestyle sector sought to improve distribution efficiency, they turned to Cornerstone Edge for support. A dedicated facility was chosen as the consolidation hub, and we worked to integrate operations from three other brands into this site. Through in-depth storage analysis, detailed equipment and building evaluations, and assessments of space requirements, we designed a solution tailored to meet the unique needs of all business units. The transition is unfolding in phases, with one brand slated to complete its move in 2024 and the others joining the optimized distribution center in 2025.
With the incoming administration, equity and policy analysts are predicting a surge in M&A across a variety of sectors in 2025. Whether there is an actual surge or not, the fact remains that M&As occur and they affect contracts, procurement, technology, and custom systems in warehouses, directly impacting supply chain efficiency.
Supply Chain Trends of 2024: Summary
Of course, many other trends are dominating the space: global trade shifts, geopolitical tensions, sustainability efforts, or technological innovations like AI or robotics in supply chains. No matter where the supply chain takes us, we believe exploring cutting-edge solutions such as robotics, AI-driven workflows, and predictive analytics to enhance operational efficiency will be of critical importance in the coming years. By staying ahead of emerging trends, we’re here to help you remain competitive in an ever-changing supply chain landscape. Reach out to learn how we can help make your supply chain your differentiator.