The data gap in the supply chain

At 81% of organizations, internal systems are linked to those of supply chain partners. Technically, the connection works. In terms of content, it often doesn't: 82% regularly receive data with amounts in the wrong currency format, empty fields, or the same product listed under two different names. A connection between two systems doesn't guarantee a shared understanding. Without a shared language, every exchange is a translation — and something always gets lost in it.

On paper, everything works. But 61% manually adjust incoming data, and 65% admit that workload sometimes takes precedence over data quality. Systems don't appear to fail — precisely because employees catch the errors before they enter the system. That manual work doesn't solve the problem; it simply moves it somewhere reports don't reach, and where the knowledge walks out the door the moment the employee does.

60% recognize the pattern: when a data issue surfaces, everyone in the chain looks at everyone else, and no one actually fixes it. 48% go further, saying partners would rather cover up mistakes than address them. This isn't a technical problem; it's a governance problem. Nowhere is it defined who is responsible when things go wrong, so the issue gets stuck at the boundary between organizations.