ASCM Top 10 Supply Chain Trends for 2025

At the end of each year ASCM/APICS shares the Supply Chain Trends for the next year with its member. PICS Belgium, represented by Jan De Kimpe, followed this years’ session. The report is a correct trend overview seen the way it is developed following a four steps procedure:

1.  Create a deep and diverse team of suppy chain subject matter experts representing a variety of industries, academic institutions, geographics and personal experiences.
2. Identify resources from a broad collection of high-quality research reports and articles, Google analytics, surveys, subject matter expert knowledge, and more. This includes 419 citations, more than 2.000 pages of research and 200 unique resources. Consolidate this list and fill in any gaps.
3. Assign each team member a set of resources from which to extract trends. For each trend identified, write a brief explanantion of its relevance to the future of supply chain.
4. Rank trends into a list, followed by a vote of each one’s likelihood and potential impact, using a 0-to-10 scale. Along the way, distil 209 subtrends into a top 10.

Conclusion is that the supply chain landscape continues to evolve at an uprecendented pace. In 2025, organizations will need to navigate a complex interplay of technological advancements, geopolitical shifts and evolving consumer expectations. To thrive in this dynamic environment, industry professionals must embrace tech and innovation, build resilience, ensure people are well-trained, and prioritize sustainability. This year’s top 10 trends highlight key areas where organizations can focus their efforts to achieve these goals and help shape the future of supply chain management.

Compared to 2024 there are some shifts and new topics added:

The top place for AI is not a surprise and should be impacting mainly the way we plan supply chains and manage our inventories. Geopolitics and global trade win attention linked to global tensions and trade wars that might impact supply routes, costs and create uncertainties. Big data and advanced analytics are enabling supply chain organizations to more easily identify inefficiencies, reduce costs, improve customer service, and enhance resilience and agility. Cybersecurity is a core element of digital and intelligent networks, and supply chain professionals must safeguard these systems by staying up-to-date on best practices, taking a risk-based approach, and investing in cybersecurity solutions, training and awareness. Leading supply chain organizations prioritize agility and resilience to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions, and this should be leading partnerships. Digitization and risk management are losing some places and supply chain investment and green supply chains were dropped from the top 10 list.

New on the list is strategic sourcing and supplier management. Supply chain organizations should look to enhance flexibility by diversifying sourcing and developing multiple supplier relationships. In addition, more companies will prioritize long-term partnerships, collaboration and information-sharing to simplify networks, improve efficiency and reduce risk.

As for workforce evolution we see that the supply chain landscape is undergoing rapid transformation, driven by technological advancements and evolving leadership paradigms. Enhanced human-machine interactions and industry 5.0 technologies are improving resilience and efficiency. However, the industry faces a growing shortage of skilled labour due to demographic shifts and automation. Investing in talent management and skill development is crucial to meet future supply chain demands, especially as human labour remains a critical factor in supply chain productivity and competition.

These trends show which focus is expected from supply chains and supply chain professionals the coming year, but also where to put the accents for further professionals’ development and trainings to be supplied by PICS Belgium.