Finding Increased Revenue in Agility-Boosting Tech

While it’s clear that pandemic-induced business disturbances and supply chain disruptions wreaked havoc on many businesses in 2021, a new survey from B2B software firm Cleo, conducted by Dimensional Research, brings to light a lesser-known finding: executives making investments in agility-increasing technology were able to increase revenue during the pandemic in 2021.

The study highlights the top supply chain and technology challenges facing businesses today and shows that respondents are prioritizing agility via integration technology in order to mitigate disruptions.

Here are the key findings from the survey:

Business Threats & Resulting Concerns

• 68% of respondents report the pandemic was the greatest external threat to their business, followed by supply chain disruption (44%). Both groups say these threats were damaging to business partner relationships as well.
• 90% of companies say they replaced or terminated at least one business partner in 2021, citing:
• Supplier problems (60%)
• Manufacturing problems (50%)
• Shipping problems (44%)

• 48% of businesses suspended or terminated two or more lines of business in 2021.

Technology Investments

• 71% of respondents invested $100,000 or more in supply chain technology in 2021; the investments were made largely to combat disruptions and business threats.
• 59% of those surveyed invested in integration technology as their primary method to respond to disruptions threatening their business, while 53% invested in back-office applications such as ERP, CRM, WMS, or TMS solutions.
• Business leaders from one in five companies (19%) state that increased agility resulting from investment in integration technology drove $3 million or more in additional revenue in 2021. 50% report at least $1 million in additional revenue and 73% saw increases of at least $500,000.
• 99% of leaders report increased revenue because of agility-increasing technology investments.