Supply Chain Volatility

Trade wars won’t break supply chains. But the consumer impact will trouble brands

Tuesday, March 3, 2026 · Kevin O’Marah, co-founder, Zero100 Global trade wars and geopolitical tensions in 2026 are not breaking modern supply chains, but the rising cost of resilience is increasingly being passed on to consumers, creating price pressure, brand risk, and trust challenges.

3 strategies to turn supply chain uncertainty into advantage in 2026

Monday, December 15, 2025 · Thomas O’Connor, chief of research, Gartner Supply Chain In an era of persistent volatility, Gartner argues that supply chain leaders can turn uncertainty into advantage by embedding AI into workflows, engineering profit through disciplined cost management, and stress-testing networks before disruption strikes.

Can another supply chain group save us?

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 · Brian Straight Back in late 2023, in response to global panic about the state of the supply chain, President Joe Biden announced the formation of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience. Now, another group has formed. Will it succeed in its mission to improve the supply chain?

Solving supplier traceability in modern supply chains

Wednesday, August 14, 2024 · Venkat Maddila, Travis Wolf, Carl B. March and Anthony Mubarak As traceability programs become a business requirement, the appropriate platform combining publicly available data and AI tools can enable companies to move beyond base-level traceability.

Taking the temperature of the supply chain

Friday, August 9, 2024 · Jeff Berman A new report from S&P Global finds that more people are feeling positive about the supply chain as the second half of the year moves forward.

Walmart named NextGen Supply Chain Visionary Award winner

Monday, August 5, 2024 · Brian Straight Walmart’s Karisa Sprague will accept the NextGen Supply Chain Visionary Award at the upcoming NextGen Supply Chain conference in October.

One door closes, a better one opens

Friday, July 5, 2024 · Suketu Gandhi, Rupal Deshmukh, Gillis Jonk, and Sachin Narang The sense of resolve out there seems at first counterintuitive, given the holding pattern of weak demand and continued uncertainty, even after COVID. Inflation, China de-risking, the brutality of Ukraine and Gaza, attacks on Suez shipping, Panama Canal drought, hacked data and…

Logisticians adjusting to volatility that is now embedded in supply chain

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 · John D. Schulz The influential 35th annual State of Logistics Report shows how logisticians are adapting to “permanent volatility” in their supply chains as they ride out the wave of uncertainty.

Moody’s weighs in on insurance risks supply chains face today

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 · Brian Straight A report from Moody’s has identified areas of the supply chain where insurers are most concerned.

Inflation continues to have a wide-ranging impact on supply chains

Monday, May 13, 2024 · Brian Straight Inflation continues to impact various areas of supply chains, which are still dealing with ongoing disruptions, a Blue Yonder executive survey has found.

A reshoring history lesson

Friday, May 10, 2024 · Brian Straight The reshoring trend is rapidly accelerating, but it is not new. Reshoring Institute Executive Director Rosemary Coates provided a history lesson on reshoring at the recent ISM World conference.

Few executives believe their supply chains can respond quickly to disruptions

Friday, April 26, 2024 · Brian Straight Only 17% of supply chain leaders say their company is prepared to respond to a major disruption within 24 hours, a Kinaxis survey has found.

Finance leaders remain optimistic despite increasing cost worries

Monday, April 17, 2023 · SCMR Staff Grant Thornton survey shows 54% of CEOs are optimistic about the U.S. economy as supply chain issues ease.

Balancing supply and demand to avoid inventory surprises in 2023

Tuesday, January 31, 2023 · Paul Lord Bring balance through a supply chain lens that aligns choices and operating decisions to account for risks and constraints in achieving and sustaining total network performance.

Pandemic-driven shipping surge ends

Monday, January 9, 2023 · SCMR Staff With imports below the 2 million TEU mark, major ports escape the pressures of the past year.