Supply chain confidence falls as geopolitical risk rises

Blue Yonder has published its 2026 Supply Chain Compass report, which found that 66% of supply chain leaders believe their organisations are ready for the future.

That is down from 73% in the previous edition of the survey, which drew responses from 678 senior supply chain professionals at companies with more than USD $500 million in annual revenue across North America and Europe.

The report points to a widening divide between leaders who feel confident about their supply chains and those who do not. It found that 46% of respondents were highly optimistic, while 54% were less optimistic.

Among the optimistic group, 87% said they were ready for the future. That figure fell to 48% among less optimistic leaders.

The gap also showed up in views on business strategy. Less optimistic respondents were nearly twice as likely to say they needed a new approach, with 43% holding that view compared with 23% of highly optimistic leaders.

Key priorities

Efficiency and productivity ranked as the top strategic priority for 2026, selected by 35% of respondents. Faster, better decision-making came second, rising sharply from seventh place a year earlier.

The findings suggest supply chain teams are under pressure to make more decisions in less time while operating in increasingly volatile conditions. Leaders felt better prepared to handle technology threats and operational issues than geopolitical disruption.

That weakness was most visible in response times. Only 20% of leaders said they could develop and deploy a response to geopolitical disruption within 24 hours, while 38% said the process took more than a week.

Technology split

The report also found differences in how leaders are using technology. Unified data platforms were the most widely deployed new technology, with 51% of respondents saying they had already implemented them.

Use of artificial intelligence varied by type. Machine learning and predictive AI were in use by 45% of respondents, generative AI by 24%, and agentic AI by 8%.

More optimistic leaders were more likely to have dedicated technology budgets, spend more on supply chain systems, adopt unified data platforms and take an end-to-end approach across planning, sourcing and execution.

The survey found that operational fragmentation remained a major issue for less optimistic organisations. They were 2.3 times more likely to struggle with slow data sharing, 2.5 times more likely to work in silos, 3.4 times more likely to face logistical problems when collaborating with suppliers, and four times more likely to struggle with disjointed supply chains.

Confidence gap

The research linked optimism with expected financial performance, although it did not provide detailed revenue figures. More confident respondents also expressed stronger belief in their resilience, management approach and ability to set priorities.

Duncan Angove, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Yonder, said decision strain was becoming a central issue for supply chain leaders.

"Supply chain leaders are being asked to make more decisions, more frequently and with less time available," said Duncan Angove, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Yonder.

He said confidence depends on access to the right information and tools across the organisation.

"In supply chain management, confidence is not simply a mindset. It is built on end-to-end visibility, unified data and practical AI that allows teams to make good decisions quickly and at scale," said Angove. "Blue Yonder enables companies to link together planning, sourcing and execution functions so they can reduce decision fatigue, rapidly respond to disruptions and manage the business with more control," added Angove.

The survey covered executives in retail, manufacturing and logistics. It examined attitudes to strategic priorities, disruption, artificial intelligence, sustainability and business confidence.

The findings point to a more cautious mood in supply chain management, even as companies continue to invest in data systems and AI tools. They also suggest geopolitical risk remains the area where many large organisations are least able to respond quickly, with only one in five able to put a response in place within a day.