Supply chain managers in the UK spend up to 52 days a year dealing with regulatory compliance, according to System i ERP powerhouse Infor.

Infor, which sells a plethora of i-driven applications including its LX, XA, System 21 and A+ ERP solutions as well as HCM Infinium, questioned more than 100 supply chain managers in UK companies. The research found that 84 per cent spent up to 52 days a year on compliance and 16 per cent said that they spent even more time than that. More than half (58 per cent) claimed to be either concerned or very concerned about operating in an increasingly regulated environment.

Despite spending significant resources on compliance, 30 per cent admitted that they did not have a risk management strategy in place for their supply chain.

"Supply chains are increasingly complicated and the fact those responsible for managing supply chains are spending up to 52 working days a year on compliance alone is surprising and of serious concern," says Andrew Kinder, director of industry and product marketing for supply chain management at Infor.

"With the need to dedicate 20 per cent of their working time to supply chain compliance, it is little wonder that professionals struggle to find the time to unlock cost savings, optimise productivity and add all-important value to the business.

"Supply chain regulations make a risk management strategy more important than ever. Organisations are well practiced at deploying risk management strategies for their data centres and mission-critical applications such as order taking and dispatch functions. However, they often leave supply chains which carry millions of pounds worth of assets exposed. Failure to comply with legislative requirements can be among the most expensive of risks, with financial penalties and damage to reputation posing real threats. These findings demonstrate that supply chain managers need to ensure that supply chain risk management becomes a formal consideration."

Infor's research found that other major concerns include the need for better supply chain visibility (96 per cent), shrinking margins (90 per cent), introduction of new products (89 per cent) and escalating consumer expectations (89 per cent).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 82 per cent of supply chain managers said they were concerned about reducing their carbon footprints. But 47 per cent stated cost as a barrier to implementing green initiatives and 32 per cent claimed that an inability to measure results hindered progress.

Three quarters of those polled said that their supply chain’s geographic reach had increased in the last two years. Indeed, almost half (43 per cent) claimed that their supply chain now incorporated the UK, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and both Eastern and Western Europe.

67 per cent said that they were more likely to offshore parts of their supply chain compared with two years ago. While Asia-Pacific would be the offshore hub of choice for 47 per cent, 53 per cent leant towards Eastern Europe as their preferred destination.