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Self-sustaining supply chain
The future of supply chain management goes beyond efficiency. It’s about creating a self-sustaining powerhouse that drives your entire business forward.
EY Belgium Supply Chain Day
Join us on 02 October 2025 and find out how to transform challenges into strategic advantages for your supply chain.
In an ever-changing world, how does your supply chain cope with (unexpected) strain?
Inflationary pressure, supply uncertainty and geopolitical, economic, and ESG pressures are causing a rethink of traditional global supply chain models. Linear, cost-driven supply chains are giving way to more multi-dimensional supply networks that better balance risk, sustainability, speed, agility and cost.
With EY’s self-sustaining supply chain approach, you not only optimize your supply chain, but propel your entire organization into a new era of operational excellence and strategic advantage.
The self-sustaining supply chain is fit for purpose
A self-sustaining supply chain is characterized by its ability to:
- Learn from disruptions and incorporate those lessons into future operations.
- Balance short-term performance with long-term fitness.
- Collaborate across ecosystems, not just functions.
- Regenerate capacity, whether that’s inventory, talent, or trust.
Imagine a supply chain that breaks through silos and organizational boundaries. A supply chain that isn’t just automated or primed to decide on its own, but one that adapts, evolves, and thrives like a living organism. A system that senses disruptions, self-regulates performance, and continuously optimizes itself, not just for efficiency, but for resilience and long-term relevance.
Key characteristics
Dynamic
The self-sustaining supply chain is not static but continuously evolves and adapts to the ever-changing needs and challenges of its environment.
Network
It’s not a linear sequence of events but a complex network of actions and reactions across multiple flows, including value, physical goods, IP, data and financials.
Ecosystem
Within this ecosystem, interactions are self-regulated and almost autonomous, maintaining just the right level of momentum to operate efficiently with minimal external intervention.
Reimagining supply chains
The self-sustaining supply chain represents the next evolution in supply chain management. It’s a mindset shift that goes beyond the technological evolutions of the past years.
For supply chain leaders, the core question isn’t just “How do I automate more?”, but rather: “How do I build a supply chain that can take care of itself, and still take care of the business?”
This shift requires a new mindset. And it starts with reimagining supply chains not as machines to be optimized, but as organisms to be nurtured.
To help your organization map its journey, the following maturity scale can help assess where you are and define the path forward:
|
Stage |
Description |
Mindset |
|---|---|---|
|
1. Reactive |
Responds to issues after they occur |
Firefighting mode; decisions made in silos |
|
2. Automated |
Executes predefined tasks efficiently |
Efficiency-focused; task automation over transformation |
|
3. Autonomous |
Makes decisions within set parameters |
Trust in AI for routine decisions; human-in-the-loop for exceptions |
|
4. Self-Sustaining |
Continuously evolves to stay fit and resilient |
Ecosystem thinking; resilience and regeneration as core KPIs |
How EY can help
We help organizations move from concept to execution by:
- Identifying where you are on the self-sustaining supply chain maturity curve
- Ideating bold but pragmatic initiatives that align with your purpose and long-term value goals
- Prioritizing actions based on impact, feasibility, and readiness
- Orchestrating transformation across people, process, technology, and data
Whether you're just starting or ready to lead, we bring the tools, insights, and ecosystem to help you take the next step confidently and sustainably.
Let’s build supply chains that don’t just survive the next disruption, but come out stronger.
Tom Van Herzele
EY Belgium Supply Chain & Operations Partner
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