Today’s supply chains are more interconnected than ever. This brings both complexity and opportunity: a single disruption can ripple across the business, but the right processes can also amplify resilience and agility.
Disruptions are no longer rare. According to the Celonis Process Optimisation Report 2025: Supply Chain Edition, more than half (54%) of supply chain leaders face disruptions on a daily basis. Companies that thrive are those that proactively build the flexibility to adapt, whether it’s balancing warehouse capacity amid labor shifts or supporting suppliers under pressure to deliver constantly.
For Australian businesses, these challenges are intensified by unique local realities: port congestion and shipping delays and the reliance on global supply chains for critical goods from semiconductors to renewable energy technology. Leaders here are dealing with disruption on multiple fronts – making resilience not just a defensive measure, but a competitive necessity.
Inventory management is also one of the most powerful levers for resilience. When optimised, it strengthens the balance sheet and unlocks working capital. Inventory typically ties up 15-25% of its value annually through carrying costs – and for fast-depreciating goods, that figure is even higher. By fine-tuning stock levels across the right locations, businesses can improve service levels by 5–20%, reducing lost sales while keeping costs under control.
The real challenge is finding the balance between the cost of holding stock and the risk of stock-outs. That balance depends on processes – and that’s where Celonis comes in. Our platform helps companies see and optimise their end-to-end operations, enabling smarter decisions in real time.
In Australia, that advantage is increasingly being recognised across industries, from mining and energy to retail and healthcare. Optimised supply chains don’t just reduce costs – they enable growth, accelerate sustainability efforts, and improve customer trust. Leaders who master their supply chain processes today will be the ones setting the pace for tomorrow.
To support this journey, Celonis partnered with McKinsey to create a definitive guide to supply chain optimisation. The eBook brings together insights from McKinsey associate partners Dr Christoph Lenartz and Ana Paula Calvo, supply chain transformation specialists, alongside Celonis General Manager of Supply Chain, Peter Budweiser.
For business leaders in Australia, this is the moment to treat supply chain improvement as a boardroom priority. This guide offers the tools to move from firefighting to foresight, turning supply chain resilience into a source of competitive advantage.
Download it today here.