Supply Chain Trends 2025

As we welcome 2025, we’ve reviewed some reports from across the supply chain industry to summarise the inventory management and supply chain trends you need to be aware of for the coming year.

2024 disruption

What’s clear, is that inventory and supply chain managers have faced relentless supply chain disruption.

In October, McKinsey published a report, Supply chains: Still vulnerable, which showed that 90% of respondents encountered supply chain challenges in 2024. They also noted that companies seem to be ‘taking their foot off the gas’ regarding supply chain resilience.

The article shows companies that have consistently prioritised resilience-building efforts are “now reaping the benefits of the strategic resilience projects they have implemented over the past three years”.

Looking ahead, McKinsey’s suggests that to stay ahead of future supply chain challenges, companies must continue to build resilience and address blind spots in systems, processes and capabilities.

Despite some supply chain improvements, the latest McKinsey Global Supply Chain Leader Survey shows that substantial vulnerabilities remain for many organisations. Reducing resilience-building efforts, gaps in supply chain visibility, compliance challenges, and talent shortages expose many businesses to future disruptions.

To safeguard against these risks, McKinsey recommends prioritising ongoing digitisation, talent development, and proactive risk management while ensuring that leaders pay attention to and support supply chain issues.

McKinsey also has seven questions to help gauge where you’re paying enough attention to supply chain resilience. How many businesses will be able to say ‘yes’ when asked, ‘Is your average time to recover from supply chain disruptions less than one week?’.

Supply Chain Management Review released a podcast in November that discussed the biggest risk trends for 2025 with Moody’s Andrei Quinn-Barabanov. They have summarised these trends in their related blog.

Following their 2024 supply chain risk trends of strategic sourcing realignment, including reshoring and friendshoring, tariffs, sanctions, bans and other restrictions, and GenAI, they have identified the following trends to be aware of in 2025.

Supply chain restrictions
Operational risk
Value at risk

You can find out more about these in the Talking Supply Chain podcast.

Artificial intelligence

Last year, the Association for Supply Chain Management declared that the number one priority for supply chain and inventory managers was supply chain digitalisation, including artificial intelligence and cyber security. According to Supply Chain World and Supply Chain Today, who have put AI in their top trends, this is still a key feature for companies to look out for.

Gartner has included AI-driven advances as one of its three success drivers among the Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 for 2024, stating, “The companies ranked in the Supply Chain Top 25 have built solid foundations in digital supply chain data and capabilities. They evaluate both traditional and nongenerative AI techniques and GenAI to build practical use cases that benefit most from AI-driven advances.”

In Supply chains: Still vulnerable, one of McKinsey’s ways forward is to ‘Accelerate the adoption of AI’, advising that AI-powered digital tools provide opportunities for supply chain planning, operations and risk management.

AI is a broad subject that can be difficult to understand, particularly when choosing which software and digital tools are right for your business. We’ve broken down AI and some inventory management applications in our eGuide, ‘What is Artificial Intelligence?’ to help.

Our eGuide also explains how AI can support other trends, such as predictive demand forecasting, which Supply Chain World highlighted as a key trend. McKinsey echoes this with its report showing increased interest in using AI for demand planning.

Supply chain digitisation

While AI is a substantial element of supply chain digitisation, there are other ways to bring technology into your business to support supply chain resilience.

Supply Chain World also predict that advanced data analytics for actionable insights, data-driven inventory and route optimisation will be trends for 2025.

Companies that invest in automation can boost profitability, stay competitive and meet customer demand with more agility. Automation leads to greater efficiency in day-to-day operations like order fulfilment. When businesses automate supply chain processes, they can lower inventory and transportation costs, reduce waste and improve customer service.

Automation is where a machine completes tasks instead of a human, usually faster and more accurately. While a person still needs to programme the relevant machinery, the machine will carry out the tasks independently.

Connecting your ERP system to cloud demand forecasting and inventory optimisation software increases supply chain visibility by providing more information. With more information, you can make data-driven decisions to respond to market trends and changing economic conditions regarding stock levels and operating costs.

The Internet of Things has transformed businesses, allowing them to track their goods and items through the supply chain in real-time. While it sounds complicated, IoT connects devices or objects to a digital network for global monitoring.

Connecting items using sensors and tracking devices such as NFC, QR codes, barcodes, and tags lets businesses know where their items are, their condition, and expected delivery times. This level of information enables companies to respond to issues quickly, save administrative time for tracking items, and reduce the risk of theft or losing items.

The insights you gain will reduce costs, increase service levels and optimise networks by highlighting areas for improvement. For example, you could identify bottlenecks in production to reduce downtimes and improve efficiency. The IoT could also help you identify cost-saving opportunities and ensure compliance with environmental regulations. In service businesses, you could use IoT to track when items are likely to break so you can be prepared to repair.

Autonomous vehicles and drones also feature in Supply Chain Today’s 2025 trends list. Robots can support and enhance existing staff roles. They can be beneficial for picking items in large warehouses, especially if there is a labour shortage. Using robots for repetitive tasks can increase efficiency and accuracy. It can also reduce the risk of injuries where items might be heavy or stacked high. This allows your employees to better use their time with other operations that need a human touch.

Automated vehicles are suited for smaller warehouses. They can plan the shortest and most efficient routes to move items around warehouses, particularly where items are moving along regular routes.

While robots and AI seem expensive, there are various options to suit different business needs. As they become more common and technology advances, their costs will decrease to make them more affordable for businesses of all sizes.

Sustainable supply chains

Both Supply Chain Today and Supply Chain World highlight the rise of sustainable supply chains, the circular economy, ethical sourcing and waste reduction.

As we live through the impact of climate change, customers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious. They are looking for their suppliers to focus on sustainability as well. It’s a win-win for companies, as not only will they be doing their bit for the environment, but they’re also likely to see an increase in profits and customer loyalty.

It’s not just customers. Governments are introducing more policies and tariffs on manufacturing. For example, in the UK, two Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs) – The European CBAM and the UK CBAM – are being introduced.

Knowing where to start when becoming more environmentally responsible can take time and effort. However, there are several areas you can focus on to reduce your carbon footprint and move towards a green supply chain.

Digitalising your supply chain can reduce your environmental impact by lowering excess stock and minimising waste to impact your bottom line positively. By optimising your inventory thanks to more accurate demand forecasts and smarter ordering, you can ensure you hold the stock you need and reduce the need for rushed air orders.

With more data at your disposal, you can share consistent order information so they can combine your orders into batches to reduce the number of shipments you receive. You’ll also be able to fill minimum order quantities smartly and make the most of space in shipping containers with goods with upcoming demand.

A prominent area for reducing emissions is with fleets and company vehicles. As vehicles come up for renewal, see whether you can change these to electric or solar-powered vehicles. You could also use software and AI to optimise routes to lower fuel or energy consumption.

As the green economy grows and people adopt more green and environmentally friendly solutions, they become more affordable. These include adding wind and weather-proof doors to warehouses, switching to LED and motion-senor lighting, increasing insulation, setting up recycling stations and reviewing packaging for more environmentally friendly options.

The circular economy can help with sustainable business processes and saving money.

Implementing a circular supply chain involves working with your suppliers and customers to develop new working practices that aren’t detrimental to the item’s quality and performance. As raw materials prices fluctuate, companies can break down finished products and return them to their natural form to reuse or resell.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity and risk management, another trend raised by Supply Chain Today, and one we have been discussing for the past few years, also ties in with the increasing use of blockchain for transparency.

Protecting supply chain data and operations from cyber threats will continue to be a significant concern, and we will likely see cyber security investment increase.

Cybersecurity is essential for supply chain managers because it helps protect the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive information, such as financial data, customer information, and proprietary business information.

You must ensure partners safeguard their networks, devices, people and programs. Investing in firewalls, anti-hacking technologies, and employee training is vital to securing your and your customers’ data. This, in turn, can help them maintain customer and partner trust while reducing costs and liabilities associated with cybersecurity incidents.

Along with firewalls and anti-hacking technologies, blockchain technology can increase cybersecurity.

A blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions that is decentralised and distributed across a network of computers. Each block in the chain contains several transactions, and every time a new transaction is added, it is added to the most recent block in the chain. Once a block is added to the chain, it cannot be altered, making the blockchain resistant to tampering or hacking.

By creating a tamper-proof record of every transaction in the supply chain, from manufacturers to end customers, blockchain provides transparency and traceability to increase trust in supply chains.

You can find more information about cybersecurity in our blog ‘Supply chain cybersecurity: 5 ways to minimise threats. We also have blogs that cover information security and ISO 27001 in more detail.

Reshoring and nearshoring

Finally, we come to reshoring and nearshoring as identified by Supply Chain Today.

Geopolitics and reshoring (or onshoring), nearshoring, and multishoring are still trends for 2025, particularly with disruption set to continue. Closer supply chains will continue to be a priority for companies wanting to reduce transportation, storage and inventory while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to support sustainable practices.

In recent years, offshoring to countries with lower costs for manufacturing has become less attractive. Trade wars, labour shortages, and rising transportation costs have impacted the bottom line for many companies, pushing some to move their production closer to home. As global supply chains continue to face disruption, reshoring and nearshoring have become more common.

You may want to review your strategy and consider how reshoring, nearshoring, or diversifying your supply chain can make your business more resilient and flexible in response to ongoing disruption. While production costs might be slightly higher when sourcing more locally, the additional cost can be offset by avoiding lost sales due to supply shortages or backlogs. Diversifying your supply chain helps reduce the risk of delays and shortages caused by natural disasters, political instability, or other unforeseen events.

Conducting a supplier audit can allow you to identify multiple suppliers for the same items in different locations. This practice, known as multishoring, helps hedge your risk by enabling you to rely on alternative suppliers if one is experiencing issues.

Looking ahead

Staying competitive means staying ahead of trends like these. For companies looking to protect their future, 2025 presents challenges and opportunities. By investing in resilience, digitalisation, and sustainability, you can ensure your supply chain is ready for the future.

Further information

At EazyStock, we help customers navigate supply chain challenges with ease by optimising inventory through smart, data-driven decisions, driving efficiency and improving resilience.

To learn more about how we can help with your digitisation, automation and AI plans, contact our experts, who will be happy to help.

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