Over the weekend, I’ve been taking a break from research and reading someone else’s for a change. I came across the 2025 Supply Chain Earnings Impact Report. It reviews more then 1,000 quarterly earnings reports during the supply chain disruption between between 2019 and 2025 and concludes that enterprises prioritizing technology integration, real-time visibility, and operational resilience consistently outperformed the market. If you want to compare your own supply chain agility and effectiveness with peers and chart your course to improved earnings through supply chain mastery, please don’t forget the tools and guidance available here for your supply chain digital transformation.

New Tariffs Pose Threats, But They Also Offer Opportunities

Speaking of disruption, my inbox has been full of questions about tariffs. Most have focused on preparing supply chain applications for the changing environment or digitizing and diversifying enterprise supply chains.

But this item on tariff-driven venture capital opportunities reminded me of our research on technologies to support the pivot from manufacturing economies of scale to manufacturing economies of scope. This could mean rethinking product lifecycle management to focus on sustainability, innovation, and resilience as much as cost; deploying smart manufacturing technologies to adjust your mix of offshore, nearshore, and onshore manufacturing to changing circumstances; or laying the foundations for software-defined factories.

 

Please keep an eye open for further research on forging a supply chain and manufacturing ecosystem that is resilient to global shocks and responsive to local market demand. We have work in the pipeline on agentic AI in the supply chain as well as research on IT support for microfactory-based manufacturing strategies. In the meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts and provide guidance sessions on how to apply our research to the decisions that you face.