He added: “Instead, leaders should engage their teams from the start of the process, embrace the areas of resistance as a resource, not a problem, and act on feedback to adapt transformation plans and how they are implemented. Harvesting the collective wisdom of their teams can lead to dramatically improved odds of success.”

Gartner surveyed 306 logistics professionals from organisations with $500 million (£392.5m) or more in enterprise-wide annual revenues. The global survey was conducted from November to December 2023.

The survey found that more than 80% of respondents had attempted four transformations in fewer than five years, averaging almost one a year. Internal change resistance played a greater role in obstructing the success of their transformation initiatives than outside pressures (see below).

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“Resistance can be productive or unproductive, but leaders must shift from viewing resistance as a barrier to seeing it as a source of valuable insights and learn how to leverage it,” concluded Dewal.

“This approach not only enhances project management outcomes, but also boosts staff morale and can help unearth new competitive advantages.”