Global leaders consider geopolitical challenges (61%), inflationary trends (46%), and concerns about the ability to manage increased pressure (40%) regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues as the main risks affecting their supplier relationships, according to the Deloitte 2023 Global Third-Party Risk Management Survey conducted in 40 countries, including Romania.

The study also highlights the measures organizations are taking to manage risks generated by their relationships with suppliers. These include giving priority to renewing methodologies, policies, and overall standards used (63%), the need to strengthen the leadership team's role in managing relationships with partners (48%), and improving employee skills (47%). In addition to these three areas, technology and data are also top priorities, with 45% of respondents stating that further investments are needed in these areas.

Regarding sustainability measures, more than half (56%) of the respondents believe they have an organizational culture that helps employees better understand and manage the risks and opportunities related to ESG in relation to suppliers. To counter data gaps in this area, they perform analyses based on quantitative indicators and assessments.

However, companies will need to find ways to improve data traceability in supplier relationships, as one-third of respondents (31%) state that internally or externally generated data on ESG-related topics has low or very low quality.

The study also shows that to increase trust in supply chain partners and other third parties, organizations are focusing their investments on specific areas. For example, digital risks are perceived as the most important for ensuring supplier reliability, according to almost two-thirds of respondents (62%).

"The needs of organizations and their level of maturity can dictate the mix of measures they need to consider to manage the most pressing supply chain risks. For example, from a security perspective, building a resilient supply chain requires a structured approach, starting with assessing the digital maturity of business partners. The next natural step is to establish a transformation plan that allows the implementation of checkpoints in the cybersecurity field throughout the entire collaboration period with external partners," said Andrei Ionescu, Coordinating Partner, Risk Advisory, Deloitte Romania.

The adoption of technology can also help improve supplier relationships by providing organizations with the opportunity to segment and monitor them more efficiently. The study highlights that only half of the respondents officially segment suppliers based on the risk they may pose.

Furthermore, the study indicates the existence of a gap that requires additional efforts, as six out of ten organizations (62%) claim to use digital monitoring techniques, but for a quarter (25%) of suppliers.

However, just over half of the study participants (51%) believe that the volume of supplier audit activities will increase as new technologies become more widely used.

"Among other things, companies should turn to emerging technologies when aiming to reduce risks, increase trust, and streamline relationships with suppliers. However, technology itself can generate risks in areas such as cybersecurity or others, one of them being the use of these solutions by competitors to disrupt business models," said Clarisa Bulai, Director, Risk Advisory, Deloitte Romania.

The conclusions of the Deloitte 2023 Global Third-Party Risk Management Survey represent the perspectives of over 1,300 leaders from around the world.