As supply chains have increasingly become more complex with greater risks, volatility, and costs, digitizing with smart supply chains has become integral to success. Smart supply chains powered by AI are helping industrial producers improve forecasting, streamline operations, and increase their bottom line.
Manufacturing has been in contraction for the last few years, while geopolitical risks are heightened and tariffs have created additional uncertainty, yet the future is starting to look bright. Investments and expansions are picking up. The most successful manufacturers will position for success by preparing for opportunities, mitigating risks and building resiliency and capabilities.
Global supply chains started a full transformation in 2025 spurred on with geopolitical risk and encouraged by tariffs, and the pace accelerates as the New Year kicks off with geopolitics dominating the conversation and fundamentals making a comeback. We review learnings from the prior year and priorities for success in 2026.
In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson outlines three priorities for the year ahead. These priorities set the foundation for resilience, growth and sustained success in an increasingly complex environment.
2025 was another challenging year for manufacturing and supply chains. In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson highlights the three primary drivers of 2025: geopolitics, manufacturing investment and AI with advanced technologies.
As we close in on year-end, successful manufacturers are focused on executing proactive plans. Learn about the strategies the best companies are using to accelerate the pace and separate from the pack. The ability to scale, provide customer value and gain EBITDA will drive success in the New Year.
The value of MRP (material requirements planning) remains intact no matter the company size or industry. Determining how to automate the process, utilize the MRP system and potentially further enhance it with artificial intelligence and advanced technologies can yield powerful results.
Continuous improvement has been the backbone of operational excellence for decades—but today’s pace of change has surpassed it. In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson explains why manufacturers must move beyond traditional continuous improvement and embrace collaborative innovation.
Smart proactive companies are moving supply chains from global to local - or regional at a minimum. Yet the best companies are doing that while also focusing on resiliency. Our best clients are getting ahead of the pack with proactive strategies to move towards local with resiliency.
Medical products manufacturing is gaining momentum as companies want to build resilience to mitigate risk in the supply chain. Executives have realized that they must better control their end-to-end supply chain to ensure supply as geopolitical risks, vulnerabilities, and disruptions continue to arise while tariffs also push companies to build domestic capacity.
