Every December, supply chain leaders start looking ahead at what the next year might bring. This year, the predictions arriving from across the industry point in the same direction: change is coming fast. From AI and procurement to fulfillment, labor, and automation, executives and industry experts were asked one simple question: What’s your big prediction for 2026?
Here’s what they said.
Supply chains talk a lot about physical risk, but in 2026, the blind spot will be digital fragility. As AI becomes central to decision-making, companies will need plans for what to do when geopolitical events or outages disrupt models, APIs, or data pipelines.
Michael Magruder, Managing Director and Co-Lead of Supply Chain Software, BGL
In 2026, the walls between traditionally separate supply chain technology categories will start coming down. As companies grow more comfortable with AI infrastructure, data silos will collapse, workflows will reorganize around intelligence, and platforms will manage more of the value chain end to end.
Frank Kenney, Director, Industry Solutions, CLEO
In 2026, the strongest supply chain organizations will let AI handle complexity so people can focus on scale. If systems aren’t digitized, integrated, and automated by then, companies will struggle to keep up.
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Anand Srinivasan, Chief Strategy Officer at o9 Solutions
By 2026, more companies will move AI from pilots into daily use across planning, finance, and operations. The winners will be those who connect data across teams and turn AI-driven insights into faster, shared decisions.
In 2026, AI shopping agents will change how people buy, spreading demand across thousands of smaller sellers instead of a few major hubs. That fragmentation will pressure supply chains to respond faster. Today, disruptions can take weeks to fix. The companies that win will be those that can reconfigure routes, capacity, and partners in hours, not days, with clean data as the foundation.
Hiral Rao, SVP of Global Operations, Springline Advisory
By 2026, the era of labor arbitrage will be over. Companies will compete on capability, not cost. Nearshore and offshore centers that combine deep expertise with automation, shared time zones, and bilingual digital talent will pull ahead, especially in Latin America.
Jake Heldenberg, Director of Sales Engineering, Warehouse Solutions, North America, Vanderlande
Labor shortages will drive targeted automation. By 2026, automation will be more focused and practical. About 54% of supply chain and logistics leaders are already prioritizing repetitive, non-value-added tasks amid labor shortages.
By 2026, packaging will shift from a cost line to a digital channel. As GS1’s Sunrise 2027 deadline approaches, brands will start treating packaging as a data-rich surface that connects physical products to the digital world. That shift will blur the lines between marketing, compliance, and sustainability and create billions of measurable moments where brands and consumers interact.
Robyn Hyra, Director, Industry Solutions – Logistics, CLEO
By 2026, many companies will be forced to choose between hiring and automating. The ones that succeed will put people at the center, using technology to remove friction without cutting the human element.
Vishal Patel, SVP of Product & Customer Marketing, Ivalua
In 2026, leading procurement teams will think further ahead, building long-term strategies that prioritize resilience and trust. The focus will shift from transactions to designing supply ecosystems that can absorb shocks and still perform.
2026 will mark a tipping point for connected intelligence. Platforms that link data and workflows across the enterprise will win, while standalone tools will continue to fall behind.
‘Set-and-forget’ annual contracts are a thing of the past. Markets are moving too fast. AI-driven design and sourcing decisions will accelerate, especially as memory and NAND shortages force product redesigns and push prices higher.
Jacob Olson, Senior Director, Solutions, CLEO
In 2026, mid-sized manufacturers will gain ground as AI moves from analysis to orchestration. Intelligence will break down silos, unify processes, and turn real-time insights into action.
Andy Lockhart, Director of Strategic Engagement, Warehouse Solutions, North America, Vanderlande
In 2026, fulfillment will move beyond efficiency. It will be a key differentiator for customer loyalty and a direct driver of both revenue and margins.
Stan Garber, Co-Founder and President, Levelpath
2026 is the year AI agents stop assisting and start operating, changing how work actually gets done inside the enterprise.
