You are only as strong as your weakest link in your supply chain. This concept has come to fruition as a series of chokepoints have been impacted. Smart companies are utilizing common sense and artificial intelligence enabled advanced planning systems to predict disruptions, navigate around chokepoints, and proactively prepare for success.
Hyperscale manufacturing is an emerging operating model that applies the speed, scalability, and modularity of tech companies to physical production. Hyperscale manufacturing has accelerated in importance as geopolitical risks, national security, and domestic requirements and capabilities have become of paramount importance.
Although there are plenty of issues related to the War in Iran, from a supply chain perspective, the key issue is that the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked. This supply chain chokepoint is limiting the movement of energy. We discuss take aways related to demand, supply, flow and location.
As with every war, there are immediate supply chain impacts, down-the-line impacts and related manufacturing and supply chain requirements. Companies must be prepared to pivot resiliently, scale, and plan to ensure customer and EBITDA success.
Tariffs continue to cause great stress in the financial markets and with certain industries. In fact, it divides manufacturers from distributors, logistics, and goods movement industries largely dependent on imports and trade.
There are significant opportunities for companies to grow as they expand manufacturing in the U.S. to mitigate risk in the global supply chain, support the significant rise in mining and commodity businesses to fuel electronics and artificial intelligence and take advantage of rising consumer sentiment, reduced tax rates, and the improving economy.
The storm that blanketed the U.S. had impacts that reverberated throughout the supply chain. Artificial intelligence and advanced technologies can refocus efforts from reactive to proactive and improve the outcome for people and mitigate further supply chain disruptions.
Greenland has been in the news as Trump has insisted that the U.S. should own it, and Denmark is not willing to give it up. Regardless of how that debate works out, Greenland has been highlighted as strategic in the global supply chain, from a shipping route, defense, and rare earth elements standpoint.
U.S. labor productivity soared at a 4.9% rate in the most recent quarter as compared to the typical annualized rate of 2% during the current business cycle. We are seeing productivity gains across the board as manufacturers utilize predictive processes such as SIOP and advanced technologies such as AI, robotics, and the automation of processes and better utilization of ERP.
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.
