At the beginning of each new year, people naturally think about the future. Although unanticipated events are always a possibility, emerging and continuing trends generally remain the best guides to what the future may hold. Nevertheless, Jim Bureau, President & CEO at Loftware, warns, when plans are being made, it would be unwise to ignore unanticipated events. He writes, “For decades, supply chains were engineered for efficiency. Today, they must be engineered for uncertainty. Every business leader I speak with is grappling with the same reality: The variables we used to treat as exceptions, including geopolitical instability, regulatory volatility and unpredictable demand, have become the norm.”[1] Technology is essential in helping supply chain professionals navigate an uncertain future. Below are some of the technology trends that experts believe will have the greatest impacts on supply chain operations over the coming year.

Technology Trends

Bureau observes, “The traditional supply chain, which was designed as a sequence of handoffs from one stakeholder to another, has reached the limits of its usefulness. It fractures under pressure because it was built for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. The future belongs to connected networks where all trading partners — suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, internal teams and regulators — operate from a shared foundation of data and standards rather than a patchwork of isolated systems.” Dawn Andre, Chief Product Officer at Avetta, agrees with that assessment and insists that today’s supply chains will only function at their best when they embrace cutting-edge technologies. She explains, “Modern supply chains aren’t just large; they’re alive. They're adaptive networks constantly expanding and contracting to meet shifting market demands and global disruptions. Imagine orchestrating all that with the tools many organizations still use today, like spreadsheets and email threads. The reality is that supply chains have outgrown manual control. Advanced technologies are helping to create the digital nervous system that companies are building to turn complexity into intelligence.”[2] A few of the technologies that will drive successful supply chains include:

• Artificial Intelligence. Jim Frazer, Vice President for Corporate Strategy at ARC Advisory Group, predicts that AI will become an operational layer in supply chain planning, not just a feature. He explains, “In 2026, AI will mature into a connective operational layer. [This layer will feature]: AI copilots that understand planning context; tools that recall previous decisions and constraints; predictive models with faster scenario generation; [and] decision support connected directly to execution. AI will not replace planners. It will reduce the noise they face and help them focus on the few decisions that truly matter.” Author Alex Buzan insists, “Today, AI is no longer a ‘nice-to-have tool’. It’s a need for those companies that aim to make their operations more effective and offer competitive services.”[4]

• Scenario Planning. Because the future is filled with so many uncertainties, exploring possibilities using scenario planning is essential. Buzan notes, “Scenario planning uses digital twins to simulate different outcomes. Such a tool becomes critical in an unpredictable market. Any situation, even truly disastrous, can be simulated, tested, and solved virtually. So, the company gets a clear action plan before issues happen.” One such scenario planning tool is the Enterra Global Insights and Decision Superiority System™ (EGIDS™) — powered by Enterra's Autonomous Decision Science™ platform. EGIDS helps business leaders rapidly explore a multitude of options and scenarios.

• Autonomous Agents. Frazer believes 2026 is will witness multi-agent systems transition from pilots to production. He explains, “Multi-agent systems — AI agents that negotiate and collaborate — saw early pilots in inventory balancing and transportation planning. They worked best in highly repetitive environments such as: Reallocating inventory across regional DCs; [and] adjusting replenishment quantities in short-cycle environments; recommending alternates during lane failures; monitoring upstream supplier variability. In 2026, multi-agent deployments will expand cautiously into: Freight procurement; yard coordination; appointment management; and carrier bidding and load matching. The key is bounded autonomy. Companies will allow agents to recommend, not commit, for critical decisions.”

• Keeping Track of Essential Metrics. According to analysts at KPMG, “Supply chains are now critical strategic assets that underpin an organization's competitiveness, resilience, and commitment to sustainability. The traditional metrics that once guided boardroom discussions, such as cost per unit, customer DIFOT (delivery in full on time), delivery lead times, and inventory turnover, are now being expanded to reflect today’s complexities and stakeholder expectations. In the year ahead, supply chain leaders are expected to increasingly collect and engage with a number of new metrics.”[5] Those metrics include: Visibility and real-time data; resilience and total value metrics; AI and automation decision accuracy; digital twin utilization; human-machine collaboration; cybersecurity and risk management; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance; and multi-modal supply chain orchestration metrics. Bureau adds, “Regulatory agility requires flexible data, consistent product information and the ability to update documentation and product identification requirements without grinding operations to a halt.”

• Augmentation of the Workforce. Analysts at Logility observe, “The rise of the augmented connected workforce points to a fundamental transformation in how supply chain teams get work done. This movement is not about AI replacing talent but about removing the friction that has long prevented people from contributing at their highest level. Reconciliation, spreadsheet wrestling, and exception-chasing give way to analysis, strategy, and collaborative decision-making. Teams have stopped drowning in data and started interpreting it, challenging it, and using it to craft action. Organizations embracing this progression … report a rise in confidence, alignment, and strategic clarity. Meetings become forward-looking. Insights flow more freely. Decisions happen with greater certainty and cohesion. Teams feel more empowered and more connected to enterprise strategy. This isn’t automation. It’s amplification.”[6]

Concluding Thoughts

Supply chains that are engineered for uncertainty are in the best position to take advantage of emerging opportunities. As Rob Kaplan, founder and CEO of Circulate Capital, notes, “Periods of disruption often reveal opportunities that weren’t obvious before. Companies that pay attention to [market] signals early tend to outperform as global trade evolves.”[7] To help clients pay attention to market signals, Enterra Solutions® has developed the Enterra System of Intelligence®. This System ushers in a new era of AI-enabled management science by merging cutting-edge analytical techniques with a business’ data and knowledge to Sense, Think, Act, and Learn® on enterprise data to meet the changing needs of the market. Enterra’s System acts as central “brain” within an organization, ingesting diverse datasets, business logic and practices, and strategy, to uncover unique insights and generate autonomous recommendations across the enterprise at market speed. Andre concludes, “Managing today’s supply chains is less about control and more about collaboration through data. It's more important than ever to successfully combine technology with domain expertise, embedding risk intelligence and ethical governance into every decision. In a world of constant disruption, intelligence powering supply chain technologies is the real advantage.”

Footnotes

[1] Jim Bureau, “The Supply Chain Power Shift: Five Forces Reshaping Global Commerce,” Forbes, 26 December 2025.

[2] Dawn Andre, “Beyond Efficiency: How Smart Technologies Are Rewiring Global Supply Chains,” Forbes, 26 December 2025.

[3] Jim Frazer, “The Top 10 Supply Chain Technology Trends to Watch in 2026,” Logistics Viewpoints, 15 December 2025.

[4] Alex Buzan, “Top 10 Supply Chain and Logistics Technology Trends for 2026,” Global Trade, 22 December 2025.

[5] Staff, “Key trends impacting supply chains in 2026,” KPMG.

[6] Staff, “Top 5 Supply Chain Trends for 2026: Augmented Workforces, Composable Architectures, and more,” Logility Blog, 9 December 2025.

[7] Rob Kaplan, “The Only Constant Now Is Change, And It’s Reshaping Supply Chains,” Forbes, 22 December 2025.