Based on current global economic, geopolitical, and industry trends, this ETS briefing sets out the top priorities for supply chain executives in 2026. It begins with strengthening resilience against rising tariffs, competition over critical technologies and materials such as semiconductors and rare earths, and economic conflict risks to capital flows and cross-border networks — calling for supplier diversification, scenario planning, and agile network design.
It then covers accelerating AI and advanced digital adoption (AI as the top investment priority, digital twins, agentic AI, and control towers embedded in planning, procurement, and risk management rather than treated as experiments), visibility and transparency beyond Tier-1 suppliers, and network redesign that balances regionalization and nearshoring against the efficiency of global connectivity.
The remaining priorities are cybersecurity and digital risk management across a growing attack surface and third-party dependencies, supplier collaboration and strategic partnerships under margin pressure, talent and workforce readiness for human-AI collaboration, and sustainability and ESG integration into supply chain KPIs. Every section ends with a one-line executive focus.
The full briefing is available above as a PDF and closes with a one-page summary of all eight priorities and ETS as your supply chain partner. Contact us for a playbook or roadmap tailored to your industry.