Three Supply Chain Shifts That Are Defining 2025
Supply chains have undergone an unprecedented transformation over the past five years, and the pace of change isn’t slowing down. Companies are looking for new ways to ensure efficiency, transparency and resiliency.
Following are three trends that will have a critical impact on supply chains in 2025.
The democratization of digitization. For decades, access to advanced supply chain technology was a privilege reserved for companies with the deepest pockets and the largest IT budgets. That’s changing. Digitization is no longer an option — it’s an imperative, and thanks to cloud-based platforms, open-source applications and analytics powered by artificial intelligence, businesses of all sizes can now take part.
The result is a complete transformation of how supply chains operate. Companies that once relied on outdated, fragmented systems can integrate real-time data-sharing, predictive analytics and automation into their daily operations, without needing an army of IT professionals to manage them.
The result is a more connected, transparent, and responsive supply chain. Businesses can now react faster to disruptions, minimize inefficiencies and, most importantly, ensure that products are available where and when they’re needed. What’s more, this new digital infrastructure is designed to be accessible to everyone.
Open-source ERPs. Traditional enterprise resource planning platforms have long been the backbone of supply chain management, but they come with high costs, restrictive licensing models and limited flexibility. As companies push for more control over their data and operations, open-source ERPs are emerging as a game-changing alternative.
These platforms offer businesses the ability to build and customize their systems without being locked into a single vendor’s ecosystem. Instead of adapting business processes to fit rigid software constraints, companies can design ERPs that align more closely with their organization’s unique needs. And because open-source systems are built with interoperability in mind, they integrate seamlessly with other digital tools — whether
