Supply Chain Management: 10 Trends and Strategies for 2026
Artificial intelligence plays a key role in the supply chain: agentic AI is increasingly taking over operational and strategic decision-making processes, automating sourcing, and analyzing data in real time. This not only enables companies to increase their efficiency, but also to significantly minimize risks. At the same time, the issue of diversification is becoming increasingly important.
Geopolitical tensions, regulatory requirements, and volatile trading conditions are causing companies to realign their procurement strategies and increasingly focus on multi-sourcing and nearshoring in order to operate more flexibly and independently.
Paradigm shift in the supply chain
However, German software company Remira, a provider of supply chain and omnichannel commerce solutions based in Dortmund, sees other significant trends alongside artificial intelligence: «The supply chain as a whole is facing a paradigm shift. Globalization is increasingly being replaced by localization. Companies are moving their production closer to their sales markets in order to reduce risks and make supply chains more robust. At the same time, inventories are increasing to counteract market volatility,» says Birger Klinke, Vice President Sales Supply Chain at the company. The harmonization of sales and operations planning processes with the help of real-time simulations is gaining strategic importance, as it enables precise scenario analyses, proactive control, and sustainable use of resources. At the same time, AI optimizes planning and forecasting along the entire supply chain, taking into account various influencing factors such as market indices, customs duties, or energy prices—from purchasing to the point of sale—thus ensuring more accurate forecasts and measurable economic benefits.
Complex challenges in IT
The IT departments of many companies are facing major challenges: from the digitization of paper-based processes and information stored in Excel lists to the consolidation of IT architectures and existing redundant data. On the specialist department side, too, business processes need to be simplified and harmonized. Inevitably, the qualification requirements for today's users in the workplace are changing. In addition, new regulations and high bureaucratic requirements in procurement and along supply chains are leading to high resource expenditure and costs.
Furthermore, cyberattacks are already commonplace, which is why IT security is also a key success factor in the supply chain and logistics. Companies are investing in cyber resilience to protect their networks and data in the long term. Finally, many players are focusing on greater cost transparency by using cost-to-serve analyses to break down their expenses in detail by product, customer, and route. This allows them to tap into specific optimization potential and make well-informed decisions.
Overview of the 10 most important trends and strategies in supply chain management for 2026
- Data integration in cloud technologies for the use of agentic AI: Artificial intelligence supports planning and decision-making processes by means of agents. To this end, companies consolidate data in middleware, data warehouses, or data lakes to ensure security, efficiency, and real-time access, driven by cloud technologies.
- Diversification through nearshoring: In order to better address geopolitical risks as well as tariff and transport costs, companies are strengthening multi-sourcing strategies and increasingly relying on regional suppliers.
- ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) & Transparency Requirements: Sustainability, ethical working conditions, and CO₂ reporting are becoming key criteria in the selection of suppliers.
- Modular delivery networks: Flexible, reconfigurable networks with regional buffers enable a rapid response to disruptions in the supply chain.
- Strategic «just-in-case» stockpiling» instead of «just-in-time»: Against the backdrop of increasing volatility, companies are building up safety stocks to better cushion supply bottlenecks.
- Risk management before cost optimization: Production and procurement are being relocated closer to consumption and markets; risk management is thus becoming more important than pure cost optimization.
- Sales and Operations Planning with real time‑Simulation: Fundamental digitization, integration, and harmonization of organization and end-to-end processes to enable more efficient and sustainable supply chains with the help of scenario analyses.
- AI‑Supported planning & forecasting: With the help of AI, other external factors such as indices can be included in demand forecasts to optimize quality.
- Cybersecurity & Resilience: In light of growing cyber threats, IT security along the supply chain is becoming a strategic priority.
- Impact of artificial intelligence on the workplace: Companies must redefine their working methods by automating repetitive planning tasks using AI and training their staff to do so—in order to leverage optimization potential in a targeted manner.
Source and further information: Remira
This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/supply-chain-management-10-trends-und-strategien-fuer-2026/
