Retailers to lose £5.6bn due to supply chain nightmares
Retailers are set to lose £5.6bn after reporting heavy losses due to supply chain disruption.
According to Coupa Software’s survey of around 600 supply chain leaders at retailers across Europe, retailers anticipate losses of up to 20 per cent.
Supply chain issues have been blamed, with UK retailers estimating an average loss of 5.7 per cent.
A perfect storm of supply chain challenges has meant that retailers are less keen to offer Black Friday deals this year. Some 76 per cent of retailers who usually offer discounts said they would not offer as many this year.
Nearly three in four UK retailers said they were concerned supply chain disruptions – including a shortage of logistics drivers – would impact their Christmas revenue.
“Retailers are striving to meet demand, maximize revenue potential, and find efficiencies as they continue to face unprecedented supply chain disruptions.
They are also encouraged to support key suppliers upon which they depend,” said Matthew Woodcock, regional VP of supply chain at Coupa.
Businesses said they were gloomy about the future beyond Christmas. Nine out of 10 retailers believe revenue will continue to be hit by supply chain challenges for at least the next six months.
Almost half (49 per cent) of UK retailers said they had experienced difficulties with a lack of HGV drivers while 43 per cent had experienced delays with shipping containers.
What’s more, 42 per cent reported problems caused by ‘long’ supply chains while a quarter (24 per cent) were bothered by staff shortages.