TAKEAWAYS Shaping the Future of the Global Supply Chain
TARIFF TROUBLES? In the wake of Donald Trump’s U.S. Presidential election victory, companies around the globe are preparing for likely changes to relevant policies on everything from global trade to manufacturing to environmental regulations. In the supply chain and logistics sphere, talk centers largely around an expected increase in tariffs. Here’s what some experts predict—and how they advise businesses to react. “President-elect Trump promised to start a global trade war by imposing tariffs across the board and targeting some nations with higher tariffs. If he goes through with this initiative, domestic inflation will rebound. The U.S. manufacturing sector will need to attract capital and workforce talent to build new and restore old domestic supply chains for goods that are now imported.” —Ed Hirs, Energy Fellow, University of Houston “Different manufacturing subsectors will experience wildly different outcomes [as a result of proposed tariffs]—electronics makers face potentially painful component shortages while chemical companies may benefit from reshoring. Small manufacturers will struggle with the transition costs while larger players can use this as a catalyst to rebuild their supply networks. The biggest winners will be those who use this moment to fundamentally redesign their operations with more flexibility and redundancy built in.” —Dan Abramson, SVP of Growth Markets, FourKites “Trump has signaled a more aggressive tariff strategy, which could significantly disrupt supply chains and impact company margins. Industries with complex cross-border logistics, such as chemicals and automotive, may face increased costs, particularly if tariffs are imposed on Mexico. This approach could reshape global supply chains and force companies to reevaluate their sourcing strategies, potentially accelerating the trend of nearshoring or reshoring production.” —Bindiya Vakil, CEO, Resilinc “The knee-jerk reaction from U.S. shippers will be to frontload imports before Trump is able to impose new tariffs. If you have warehouse space and the goods to ship, frontloading imports is the simplest way to manage this risk in the short term, but it will bring its own problems. A sudden increase in demand on major trade lanes into the U.S. when ocean supply chains are already under pressure due to disruption in the Red Sea will place upward pressure on freight rates.” —Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta
CONNECTING THROUGH THE CLOUD Though cloud-driven collaboration within the supply chain is not new, it’s fast becoming a must-have for global supply chain visibility and resilience. That’s the key takeaway from new research by Loftware, a digital platform for enterprise labeling, which shows 90% of survey respondents call for greater connection across global supply chains. Respondents cite cloud technology as one key to improve efficiency, ensure compliance, and reduce overall costs. Here are some additional insights from the global survey: Demand for Connection • 84% of companies say it would be beneficial to join an ecosystem where supply chain partners share access, data, and standards to improve efficiency, ensure compliance, and reduce overall costs. • 74% of respondents say the cloud offers a flexible and agile framework for streamlining access for trading partners. Compliance and Labeling Challenges • 70% of companies with $1 billion+ in revenue report being forced to re-label inbound goods due to compliance issues, leading to high costs. • 77% agree that controlled access to labeling networks could resolve labeling errors and streamline inbound goods handling. Security and Transparency Technology • 78% see AI as a valuable tool for detecting counterfeit goods by analyzing supply chain data. • 59% use serialization technology to address challenges such as tracking and counterfeiting. • 68% recognize the role of cloud technology in improving traceability, supporting on-time delivery, and enhancing sustainability.
14 Inbound Logistics • December 2024
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