Non classé

Top Supply Chain Risks to Prepare for in 2025

Published

1 an ago

13 janvier 2025

Top Supply Chain Risks To Prepare For In 2025

This is the time of year when analysts get bombarded with pitches from PR firms. The pitches share a “sneak peek” of the predictions that a CEO at a solutions company is making and then asks the journalist if they want to interview the CEO. These predictions mostly seem obvious.

I got a pitch from the PR firm representing Everstream Analytics that was different. Everstream Analytics is sitting on a vast trove of risk data. The company applies AI and other analytics to this data to provide supply chain risk analytics and insights to its clients. In short, what makes them different is that they can quantify and thus prioritize supply chain risks.

Their 2025 outlook identifies the five most likely supply chain events that will impact supply chain operations this year. Each event is assigned a risk score.

Drowning in Climate Change

This is the top risk identified by Everstream. They apply a risk score of 90% here. “Flooding has become so volatile that even nations with the most sophisticated weather warning systems and infrastructure are caught off guard by the ferocity and speed of sudden flash flood events. Companies will be upended by even more frequent small-scale events and larger-scale storms like Hurricane Helene’s unexpected and extensive destruction across several states in the U.S. Appalachia region in 2024.”

The company points out that forecasted rainfall totals for Helene were very accurate one week in advance of the flood that devasted the Blue Ridge mountain region of North Carolina. “But nobody in that region had ever experienced or even expected that amount of rainfall in such a brief period. The existing infrastructure (bridges, roads, rails) was built in the past and was insufficient to handle these copious rainfall totals. The damage impacted more than 50 electronics, automotive, and aerospace manufacturers, plus general machinery and materials processors, and medical device and health care companies.”

Climate change is causing more frequent and intense extreme weather events around the world. In 2024, flooding events contributed to 70% of the weather disruptions covered by Everstream Analytics.

So, what can companies do about this risk? They recommend looking at key company-owned facilities and those run by key partners and suppliers. The “evaluation should include a review of area infrastructure, egress routes, and waterways. Pay attention to applied meteorology forecasts as far in advance as possible and take flood warnings particularly seriously. Prepare for the worst and react aggressively.”

Geopolitical Instability with Increased Tariff Risk

Everstream applies a score of 80% to this risk. “International political and economic relations are destabilizing, caused by political upheaval, ongoing skirmishes, and full-scale wars. In 2025, it will be impossible to avoid conflict and its impact on sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics.”

The report cites intensified political turmoil in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Hamas war and its spillover, the Syrian civil war, and continuous Houthi attacks on Red Sea vessels. “Even if the traffic along the Suez Canal route returns to full throttle in 2025, this shift would cause weeklong processing delays, container backlogs, and a spike in congestion at many European seaports due to the sudden increase in cargo volume.”

In Ukraine, Russian forces now occupy around 20% of the country. Additional support from Western allies looks less likely. It is likely Russia will be able to destabilize Ukraine’s remaining manufacturing and trade activities and that further strain between Europe and Russia will result.

In Asia-Pacific, China believes Taiwan rightfully belongs to them. This has led to the souring of cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan as Taiwan exhibits more political independence. “A full-scale invasion seems unlikely.” This may be overly optimistic. However, the report summarizes the military drills around Taiwan in recent years and comments that “more or bigger Chinese military exercises could disrupt transportation through significant seaports and airports in the region. Nearly a third of all global trade – and 40% of all globally traded petroleum products – flows through sea lanes in the region.

Meanwhile, tariff increases always affect global trade flows. President Trump has proposed tariff increases, including a global baseline tariff of 10–20%, a 60% tariff on Chinese imports, and a 100% tariff on goods from de-dollarizing countries. De-dollarization is an effort by several countries to reduce the role of the U.S. dollar in international trade. Countries like Russia, India, China, among others, are seeking to set up trade channels using currencies other than the dollar.

Everstream’s report did not mention Mexican or Canadian tariffs. An increase in the flows between China and Mexico of assembled products, and materials and components produced in China has occurred. This has been described as a “back door” into the U.S. to avoid Trump and Biden administration tariffs. Trump’s negotiations with Mexico to close the back door could heighten the impact of new tariffs on China.

The automotive, semiconductor, and manufacturing industries are at risk due to potential tariffs on solar wafers, polysilicon, steel/aluminum imports, and the closure of the back door to Mexico. Additionally, tariffs on Chinese goods could lead to retaliatory measures, affecting U.S. companies operating in China. This would primarily affect U.S. agricultural exports and finished goods.

The key strategy, according to Everstream, is to understand the multi-tier supply sources by country so that a company can make sourcing adjustments when an event occurs. If a company can do this more quickly than its competitors, that leads to a competitive advantage.

More Back Doors for Cybercrime

Everstream assigns this risk a score of 75%. “While a company’s cybersecurity front doors may be double-bolted, but there are more unlocked back doors than ever available to increasingly sophisticated attackers. In 2025, cyberattacks will primarily arrive via sub-tier supply chains, where criminals can more easily exploit common programming errors and vulnerabilities. They can then leapfrog into top-tier corporations via phishing, software connection links, or other methods.”

Cencora, a sub-tier pharmaceutical supplier, had a security breach in the early spring of 2024. At least 11 global pharmaceutical companies linked this breach to their later ransomware and phishing attacks. Everstream’s data document 471 attacks in 2024. The data shows that cyberattacks were particularly common in the electronics, logistics, and consumer goods industries.

Larry O’Brien, a vice president at ARC Advisory Group, says that an European Union regulation known as Network and Information Systems Directive 2 provides a good framework for companies to follow to bolster their supply chain cybersecurity capabilities. While NIS 2 is an EU regulatory framework, NIS 2 applies to companies headquartered outside the EU if they provide services within the EU. “Adopting a risk management framework for cybersecurity is something that all manufacturers should be doing,” Mr. O’Brien points out. “As with any regulatory framework, NIS 2 tells you what needs to be done, not always how to do it.”

Rare Metals and Minerals on Lockdown

The score assigned to this class of risks is 65%. “Countries and companies alike are recognizing global mineral scarcity coupled with increasing demand, and both are responding by locking up supplies.” Between rising regulations, new tariffs, and long-term or exclusive contracts, rare minerals and metals will be harder and more expensive to obtain.

“Within a politically charged atmosphere between the West and the major commodity producers—China and Russia—companies will face new tariffs and sanctions on critical metals. Governments are placing renewed emphasis on the negative environmental and social impacts of mining, which will present challenges for metal producers over the coming year.”

But, China is not the only nation with proposed or enacted commodity restrictions. “Political tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war led to restrictions on Russian metal imports by the U.S. and the UK. Additionally, security concerns and allegations of industry product dumping led many countries to enact measures against Chinese metal imports.”

As concerns mount surrounding critical commodities, companies are increasingly turning to direct mineral purchasing agreements with mines. However, when a nation supplies an overwhelming majority of a mineral based on mining or processing, direct agreements with mines may have limited value. Graphite, for example, is a core raw material for producing Lithium batteries which are core to the electronic vehicle market. 80% of the world’s graphite is produced in China.

Crackdown on Forced Labor

No nation’s enforcement of any ESG issue comes close to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency’s enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act. $3.7 billion in shipments have been detained at the border based on enforcement of this act. In some cases, the shipments are eventually cleared, but only after supply chains were disrupted and demurrage charges accrued. But a significant proportion of shipments were never allowed entry into the US.

What gives the US act teeth is that “the ‘rebuttable presumption’ part of UFLPA is truly unique. Anything coming out of Xinjiang is presumed to have used forced labor unless an importer can prove the negative. There is also a lack of a de minimis exception; this means that even an insignificant input of product produced in whole or in part with forced labor could result in enforcement action.

While the UFLPA is the most stringent, other nations and regions have also enacted legislation. These include the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) and regulation on Prohibiting Products made with Forced Labor (FLR); Mexico’s Forced Labor Regulation; and Canada’s Fighting Against Forced and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act.

While legislation has pushed many companies to find alternative suppliers in other low-income countries, many emerging economies do not have adequate laws or enforcement mechanisms. This is particularly true when sub-tier suppliers employ migrant labor.

The technology exists to detect whether a company’s supply chain includes sub-tier suppliers based in the Uighur region of China. This technology is not flawless, there can be false positives and misses. Nevertheless, it is a powerful tool to prevent shipments from being detained based on UFLPA.

However, finding bad actors among sub-tier suppliers in other parts of the world is still difficult. Everstream points out that the food industry is a particular source of concern. Vanilla, palm oil, cocoa, and soy – produced in Madagascar, Indonesia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria – have frequently accrued violations and allegations based on child labor or forced labor issues.

The post Top Supply Chain Risks to Prepare for in 2025 appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

Non classé

Last Chance: Join the Webinar on AI, Component Sourcing, and the Future of Procurement

Published

2 jours ago

22 juin 2026

Electronic component sourcing is becoming one of the most important cost and risk challenges facing manufacturers.

Pricing remains opaque. Supplier quotes do not always reflect true market pricing. Internal purchase history may show what a company paid, but not whether that price was competitive.

At the same time, chips and components are increasingly tied to geopolitics, tariffs, AI infrastructure, defense demand, electrification, industrial automation, and supply chain resilience.

The webinar is tomorrow at 11 AM ET. Register now to join ARC Advisory Group’s discussion, The Hidden Cost of Component Sourcing — and How AI Is Fixing It, featuring Jim Frazer in conversation with Lytica CEO Martin Sendyk.

This is a practical conversation for procurement, supply chain, engineering, operations, and executive leaders who are trying to understand how component sourcing is changing.

Manufacturers need to control cost, protect supply, support product launches, and manage risk in a market where visibility is often limited. Overpayment can remain hidden. Component risk can appear too late. Engineering and procurement decisions can become locked in before teams have enough market intelligence to make the best sourcing choices.

Tomorrow’s webinar will examine why traditional approaches to component sourcing are under pressure and how manufacturers can use better intelligence to identify hidden cost, improve benchmarking, and manage sourcing risk more effectively.

Attendees will learn:

Why electronic component pricing remains difficult to benchmark

How hidden overpayment can persist inside normal procurement activity

Why supplier quotes, list prices, and internal history are not enough

How real transactional data can improve pricing visibility

Why geopolitics, AI demand, tariffs, electrification, and defense demand are changing the sourcing risk equation

How AI and sourcing intelligence can help procurement teams make better cost and risk decisions

The issue is no longer only whether a company can secure supply.

The issue is whether it can secure the right components, at the right price, with the right risk profile, early enough to influence the business outcome.

For many manufacturers, that requires a more transparent, data-driven, and intelligence-led sourcing model.

Register now for the ARC Advisory Group webinar with Jim Frazer and Lytica CEO Martin Sendyk before the session begins tomorrow at 11 AM ET.

Register for the Webinar

The Hidden Cost of Component Sourcing — and How AI Is Fixing It
Date: June 23, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM ET
Location: Online
Speakers: Jim Frazer, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group, and Martin Sendyk, CEO, Lytica

If your organization manages a significant electronic component spend, this webinar will help you understand how AI and transactional market data can expose hidden sourcing costs and turn procurement into a more proactive system of intelligence.

Register now to reserve your spot.

The post Last Chance: Join the Webinar on AI, Component Sourcing, and the Future of Procurement appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

Non classé

Weekly Supply Chain and Logsitics News Round Up (June 15th-18th 2026)

Published

5 jours ago

19 juin 2026

Weekly Supply Chain And Logsitics News Round Up (june 15th 18th 2026)

This week in logistics, the industry faces a pivotal shift as Transportation Management Systems evolve into ‘decision intelligence’ hubs, moving beyond basic routing to become the core operating brain of the supply chain. Meanwhile, operational complexity reaches new heights with the massive logistical undertaking of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even as trade tensions show signs of cooling following the European Parliament’s approval of a landmark EU-US tariff relief deal. From record-breaking automation at Nestlé’s new California hub to the fluctuating volatility of global air freight rates, these developments underscore a sector increasingly defined by high-tech integration and rapid adaptation to global market forces.

The Leading Supply Chain and Logistics Stories of the Week:

TMS Is Becoming Less of a Routing Tool and More of a Decision Intelligence Layer Beyond Execution

The role of the Transportation Management System (TMS) is undergoing a major paradigm shift. While traditional evaluations still focus heavily on execution-level metrics—like route optimization, automated tendering, and freight audit capabilities—these features have essentially become table stakes. Moving forward, the true strategic value of a TMS lies in its evolution from execution software to “transportation decision infrastructure.” Rather than just completing transactions, next-generation platforms serve as the continuous decision-making layer of the supply chain. By drawing data from across the entire network, integrating external market signals, and resolving multi-functional bottlenecks, modern TMS solutions are transitioning into the core operating brain that synchronizes movement, cost, and service levels in real time.

The Logistics Issue: The Supply Chains Behind the World Cup

While most fans focus entirely on the action on the pitch, supply chain professionals are watching what might be the most complex logistical undertaking in sporting history: the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Spanning three host nations—the United States, Canada, and Mexico—the sheer scale of the tournament requires moving more than twenty million pounds of equipment, coordinated across 5,000 vehicles and millions of square feet of warehouse space. The challenge isn’t just massive volume; it’s the absolute lack of tolerance for delay or error across highly regulated international borders. Industry experts point out that success hinges on establishing a unified ecosystem in which freight forwarders, customs officials, and vendors collaborate in real time. Crucial to this effort are standardized product identification and cloud-based labeling networks, which ensure that every critical piece of equipment, food shipment, and medical supply is fully traceable and compliant with differing regional mandates—proving that at this scale, elite collaboration is the only way to avoid catastrophic bottlenecks.

Transatlantic Trade Relief: European Parliament Greenlights EU-US Tariff

In a major relief to transatlantic supply chain operators, the European Parliament has officially voted to implement the long-awaited trade agreement with the United States. Under the newly approved legislation, the EU will eliminate tariffs on all American industrial goods and grant preferential market access to key U.S. agricultural and seafood shipments. In return, the U.S. has agreed to cap import tariffs on European products at 15%—effectively averting threatened 25% tariff hikes on European-built vehicles. Importantly for logistics planners, the deal incorporates a “defensive toolbox” to mitigate long-term trade volatility, including a sunset clause set for late 2029, a safeguard mechanism to protect EU markets from disruptive import surges, and strict conditions that allow the EU to suspend tariff preferences by the end of 2026 if the U.S. fails to lower existing duties on European steel and aluminum derivatives.

Nestlé Opens Its Largest and Most Technologically Advanced Distribution Center in the U.S.

Nestlé USA has officially unveiled its new 700,000-square-foot distribution hub in Arvin, California. Equipped with a $330 million price tag, the state-of-the-art facility represents a critical step in the company’s broader $25 billion U.S. infrastructure upgrade, emphasizing a pivot toward leaner, automation-first supply chain workflows. The Arvin facility houses the largest Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) in Nestlé’s global network, operating alongside laser-guided vehicles, automated crane systems, and layer-picking robotics. This build marks a major shift from retrofitting existing spaces to intentionally designing high-tech capabilities directly into greenfield logistics layouts from day one. Designed to mitigate peak-season labor bottlenecks, upskill the frontline workforce, and run on 100% renewable electricity as a zero-waste site, the facility showcases how global leaders are leveraging heavy automation to establish flexible, resilient distribution networks that protect margins against ongoing labor and capacity constraints.

Air Freight Spot Rates Spike 41% YoY in May, but Relief Is Expected Soon

Global air cargo spot rates surged by 41% year-over-year in May, averaging $3.40 per kilogram, driven by persistent geopolitical disruptions, carrier fuel surcharges, and localized demand booms like semiconductor and data center equipment shipments. According to Xeneta data, spot rates from Northeast and Southeast Asia to North America jumped nearly 40% compared to earlier this year. However, the pricing pressure isn’t uniform; transatlantic lanes from Europe to North America actually saw a 26% decline over the same period. For procurement teams battling these elevated costs, there is a glimmer of light on the horizon. Long-term contract rates appear to have peaked in April, and as carriers restore capacity and the market enters its traditional summer lull, analysts predict that year-over-year spot rate comparisons will finally begin to cool down, offering much-needed breathing room for shippers who have been relying on short-term contract extensions.

Song of the week:

The post Weekly Supply Chain and Logsitics News Round Up (June 15th-18th 2026) appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.

Non classé

Why Octave’s Austin Event Matters: From Asset Lifecycle Software to Intelligence at Scale

Published

7 jours ago

17 juin 2026

Octave Live OnTour Austin takes place at a consequential point in the evolution of the industrial software market. Asset-intensive organizations are under sustained pressure to improve capital project execution, asset reliability, operational resilience, safety, quality, cybersecurity, and workforce productivity. At the same time, they are being asked to make better use of data and apply AI in ways that are practical, governed, and operationally relevant.

This is the context in which Octave’s Austin event should be evaluated.

Octave, the software spin-off from Hexagon AB, brings together software assets across engineering, construction, geospatial intelligence, asset operations, quality, public safety, physical security, and industrial cybersecurity. Its Design, Build, Operate, and Protect framework provides a clear structure for organizing those capabilities around the industrial asset lifecycle.

However, the strategic significance of the event is not limited to Octave’s portfolio structure. The more important issue is what Octave’s positioning indicates about the broader direction of industrial software.

The market is shifting from digitized workflows toward intelligence at scale.

Industrial Software Is Moving Beyond Functional Digitization

For much of the past two decades, industrial software investment has centered on functional digitization. Engineering teams adopted design, modeling, analysis, and engineering information management tools. Construction teams deployed project controls and field execution systems. Operations teams invested in EAM, APM, optimization, and reliability applications. Quality, safety, physical security, and cybersecurity functions developed their own specialized technology environments.

These investments created meaningful value within individual domains. But they also reinforced a long-standing structural problem: industrial work is highly interconnected, while the supporting software environment often remains fragmented.

A design change can alter construction cost and schedule. Construction execution quality can affect commissioning performance. Poor handoff from construction to operations can increase maintenance burden. Maintenance backlog can elevate safety and compliance risk. A cybersecurity incident can become an operational disruption. A public safety event may require geospatial, security, asset, and operational context at the same time.

This is the gap that lifecycle intelligence seeks to address.

Lifecycle Intelligence Requires Context Across the Asset Lifecycle

Octave’s Design, Build, Operate, and Protect framework is meaningful because it reflects how industrial assets are planned, built, used, maintained, protected, and improved over time.

In the Design domain, Octave can address engineering, modeling, analysis, information management, and geospatial intelligence. In Build, the portfolio extends into construction, supply chain management, and project performance. In Operate, the focus expands to operations optimization, asset performance, enterprise asset management, quality, compliance, and risk. In Protect, Octave’s positioning includes public safety, physical security, and industrial cybersecurity.

Individually, these are established industrial software categories. Collectively, they suggest a broader strategic direction: the use of software to preserve, connect, and operationalize context across the asset lifecycle.

That is where the Austin event becomes important. Customers and partners should look for evidence that Octave is moving beyond portfolio aggregation toward a more integrated model of lifecycle intelligence.

Intelligence at Scale Depends on Integration, Data, and Workflow Relevance

The phrase “intelligence at scale” should be interpreted operationally, not rhetorically. In industrial environments, intelligence at scale means that software can connect relevant data, apply domain context, and support better decisions across complex workflows.

This requires more than analytics dashboards. It requires software that can help users understand the implications of decisions across functions. It also requires a data foundation that connects engineering data, project execution status, asset histories, maintenance records, geospatial information, quality events, safety incidents, and cybersecurity signals.

AI increases the importance of this foundation. AI capabilities will have limited enterprise value if they are disconnected from operational systems and industrial context. The more material opportunity is AI that is embedded in real workflows and supported by trusted domain data.

For Octave, the strategic question is whether its portfolio can support AI-enabled decision-making across the asset lifecycle, rather than isolated AI features within individual applications.

The Event Should Be Assessed as a Roadmap Signal

Buyers should treat Octave Live OnTour Austin as a roadmap signal.

The first area to assess is integration. Octave’s portfolio breadth creates potential value, but customers will need clarity on how the company intends to connect products and workflows over time. Important indicators include shared data models, workflow orchestration, user experience consistency, API strategy, and cross-domain analytics.

The second area is AI. Customers should listen for specific use cases, not general AI messaging. Relevant examples could include project risk identification, asset performance optimization, maintenance prioritization, quality exception management, safety response, cyber risk monitoring, or engineering decision support. The key issue is whether AI is being tied to operational outcomes.

The third area is ecosystem fit. Industrial organizations rarely standardize on a single vendor across the full technology landscape. Octave will need to clarify how its offerings interact with ERP, EAM, APM, MES, PLM, project controls, cybersecurity, and analytics environments. The value proposition must be additive without increasing architectural complexity.

The fourth area is sequencing. Broad portfolios require disciplined execution. A credible roadmap should identify where Octave will focus first, what integration steps matter most, and how customers should think about value realization over time.

Broader Market Implications

Octave’s Austin event matters because it reflects a larger shift in industrial software.

The next stage of the market will not be defined solely by applications that digitize individual workflows. It will be defined by platforms and architectures that connect operational context across functions. This does not mean every customer will consolidate around a single software suite. Industrial technology environments will remain heterogeneous. But the strategic requirement for connected data, workflow continuity, and decision support will continue to intensify.

AI will accelerate this trend. Effective AI depends on relevant context. If industrial data remains trapped in disconnected systems, AI will be limited to narrow productivity assistance. If data and workflows are connected, AI can support higher-value decisions involving risk, reliability, performance, safety, and resilience.

That is why lifecycle intelligence is becoming an important industrial software concept. It reflects the need to move from systems that record activity to systems that help organizations understand and act on operational complexity.

ARC Advisory Group Perspective

Octave has a credible opportunity to participate in this market transition. The company has meaningful software assets across multiple industrial domains, and its Design, Build, Operate, and Protect framework provides a practical way to organize the portfolio.

The central question is execution. Octave will need to demonstrate that its portfolio can become more than a set of adjacent capabilities. Customers will expect integration clarity, practical AI use cases, ecosystem openness, and a roadmap that connects near-term value to a longer-term lifecycle intelligence strategy.

For buyers, the Austin event should be used to evaluate roadmap direction and strategic fit. For partners, it should clarify Octave’s intended role in the industrial software ecosystem. For the broader market, it is another indication that industrial software is moving toward connected intelligence at scale.

The companies that define this next phase will not simply digitize industrial work. They will connect context across the asset lifecycle and convert that context into better decisions.

The post Why Octave’s Austin Event Matters: From Asset Lifecycle Software to Intelligence at Scale appeared first on Logistics Viewpoints.