Key supply chain trends shaping 2026: What leaders need to prepare for now
From Total Value to global centralization and AI at scale, supply chain leaders face structural shifts that demand faster decisions and stronger operating models.
What will define supply chain leadership in 2026?
For supply chain leaders, 2026 is unlikely to offer respite from the continual challenges of recent years. We expect six trends to have the potential to dominate their experience, with some reshaping overarching strategies, others enhancing the use of technology and data, and a few addressing the relentless external pressures that impact all supply chains. Here, we take a closer look at what these trends are, and why supply chain leaders should embrace them to deliver a high-functioning, resilient, value-driven supply chain.
Key takeaways for supply chain leaders
- Supply chain disruption is structural, not cyclical—planning for volatility is now the baseline.
- Total Value is replacing resilience as the primary supply chain objective.
- Centralization through GBS is accelerating to unlock scale, analytics, and automation.
- AI is shifting from pilots to platform—and decision governance must scale with it.
- New metrics are redefining performance around decision quality, adaptability, and value realization.
- Tariffs and trade disruption demand digital scenario modeling and integrated landed-cost volatility.
How can supply chain leaders rise above ongoing disruption?
After many years of chaos from the pandemic, global tensions, fluctuating tariffs, the disruption of AI, and more, it is understandable that supply chain leaders could be seeking a stable path forward. The reality is that challenges will be constant, so it is advisable to take the necessary time to focus on strategy, technology and new data insights, to keep elevating the positive impact of the supply chain on business performance.
How is supply chain becoming part of Global Business Services?
The supply chain manages many transactions and reporting requirements, therefore is becoming the next function to be migrated within the Global Business Services (GBS) organization. This follows the centralization of other functions such as finance, HR, and IT. In the short term, this trend is playing out for major global operators, but it is likely to set the scene for others to follow.
Supply chains have many repeatable, transactional, and scalable activities, making the function ripe to bring under one roof. Centralized supply chains can help organizations to leverage cost efficiencies, scale, and to engage analytics, automation, and AI. Centralization can also help to elevate global end-to-end supply chain visibility, enable faster and more informed decision making around warehousing and logistics requirements, and provide greater risk governance and resilience coverage.
A more mature supply chain function under GBS may also feature capabilities such as fully standardized supply and demand planning, dedicated and integrated logistics control towers, integrated primary and secondary logistics systems, e-commerce, and self-service capabilities.
How is AI scaling beyond proof of value in supply chains?
Throughout 2026, we expect to see many of the recent promises of AI in the supply chain become realities. Supply chains are likely to move from engaging standpoint AI solutions to prove their value, through to having AI embedded in platforms such as Source-to-Pay, and in supply chain planning and risk management tools driving efficiency and governance.
The most mature supply chains should achieve ‘Connected Intelligence’, in which enterprise-wide AI links the supply chain with procurement, finance, ESG, HR, and CRM systems, forming an intelligent, autonomous ecosystem. Many supply chain leaders are increasingly ready for this step – with past investment in the right technology platforms, connected data, and leadership commitment in place.
What is agentic procurement—and why does it matter in 2026?
Building on the advancing role of AI in the supply chain, procurement (either situated within or aligned to supply chain functions) will be increasingly powered by Agentic AI.
In 2026, three forces will converge to make this likely. The first is capability maturity, with agents not just producing insights, but actively performing tasks such as supplier evaluation, risk monitoring, and contract review. The second force is strategic pressure, with leaders focusing on embedding Agentic AI across the procurement lifecycle. The third force is operating model evolution, with digital procurement platforms evolving toward extreme automation, deep integration, and Agentic AI.
Agents are now operating across existing Source-to-Pay, Contract Lifecycle Management, and Third-Party Risk systems. The Agents are autonomously issuing and managing RFPs, evaluating supplier responses, triggering onboarding processes, monitoring supplier risk, escalating or remediating issues in real time, and identifying upcoming contract renewals. The agents can also generate negotiation scripts and execute pre-approved contract playbooks.
Which new supply chain metrics will matter most in 2026?
Supply chains are now critical strategic assets that underpin an organization's competitiveness, resilience, and commitment to sustainability. The traditional metrics that once guided boardroom discussions, such as cost per unit, customer DIFOT (delivery in full on time), delivery lead times, and inventory turnover, are now being expanded to reflect today’s complexities and stakeholder expectations.
In the year ahead, supply chain leaders are expected to increasingly collect and engage with a number of new metrics across eight key areas. Some examples of these new supply chain measurement areas include:
Data from IoT sensors, ERP systems, and logistics partners, including metrics related to the time it takes to detect and respond to disruptions.
With a focus on both internal resilience and customer satisfaction, metrics include recovery time after disruptions, supplier diversification and sourcing agility, revenue growth from improved experiences, cost savings, and employee engagement.
Metrics around forecast accuracy, business value realization, and automation rate of transactional and planning processes.
Metrics on scenario testing and simulation accuracy (how predictions align with real-world outcomes).
Tracking how effectively people and technology augment each other, such as human override frequency, trust and adoption rate of AI systems, and productivity ratio between human-led and machine-led tasks.
Metrics include incident frequency and severity, response and recovery times, supplier cybersecurity, compliance rate, and backup system maturity.
As more ESG related regulation aligns to the supply chain, metrics include carbon footprint (Scope 3), sustainable procurement rate, and supplier ESG compliance rate.
As multiple transport modes are engaged, metrics include on-time transfer rate, transit time variability, and modal agility score (the ability to switch modes based on disruption or cost).
These metrics reflect the inherent complexity of modern supply chains, and the pivotal strategic role supply chains play in business success.
How should supply chains prepare for tariffs and ongoing trade disruption?
As ongoing tariffs, non-tariff protectionism and subsequent trade disruption is likely to keep recurring in 2026, new duties might change landed costs overnight, causing teams to reconsider the sourcing of materials, shipping routes, and prices to customers.
To be prepared, supply chain leaders should be focusing on agility, such as expanding their supplier networks, relocating production closer to vital markets, or holding extra stock in selected key regions.
A digital approach is also key to managing tariff volatility. Tariff-management platforms and AI-powered scenario simulators can help supply chain leaders simulate alternative flows and test ‘what-ifs’ before policies are implemented. Meanwhile, procurement, finance, and tax departments all require access to integrated trade data to identify what the actual landed costs of products really are. AI and automation can amplify this visibility.
Modern supply chain strategy helps leaders move faster, manage risk, and deliver Total Value
Supply chain leaders face rising complexity—from trade disruption and AI adoption to cost pressure and resilience demands. To keep pace, leaders are rethinking operating models, decision frameworks, and the role of the supply chain in enterprise performance.
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