What’s One Supply Chain Problem We Should Address With More Urgency?
We asked readers what supply chain problems need even more attention, and they cited persistent challenges (fragmentation and cargo fraud) and some overlooked risks.
The lack of real-time visibility across global supply chains. As customer expectations continue to rise and as supply chains face disruptions, organizations must be able to monitor and respond to changes in real time, and that starts by integrating hardware, software, and analytics into their workflows.
–Andre Luecht
Global Strategy Lead, Transport, Logistics, and Warehouse
Zebra Technologies
Congestion at ports has become the norm lately. If supply chain managers aren’t paying attention to how long their freight is spending at the ports and rail yards, fees can add up quickly. Congestion has also caused significant delays to rail loading times, leading freight to be behind schedule by up to two weeks. This can be the difference in manufacturing lines shutting down vs. not.
–Justin McInturff
International Logistics Manager
Jarrett
The impact of environmental threats is often severe and costly due to the fragility of far too many supply chains. Analyst firm Gartner indicates that 63% are in a fragile state. Our internal data showed flash flood-related incidents surged 41% in 2024, making them the year’s top disruptor. Supply chain leaders need proactive plans to build resilient supply chains that can navigate weather-related disruptions. That includes scenario planning, identifying weak spots in their operations, and diversifying suppliers.
–Scott Lehman
VP Operational Risk Management & Supply Chain
Sphera
Adapting to a dynamic global footprint amid shifting tariffs. Companies must stay agile to avoid cost spikes and delays. At the same time, they should leverage artificial intelligence more aggressively to optimize operations—especially in scheduling, routing, and safety—to boost resilience and efficiency.
–Dr. Stefan Heck
CEO & Founder
Nauto
The over-the-counter industry’s reliance on single-source active pharmaceutical ingredients is a critical vulnerability. A public health crisis, trade barrier, or geopolitical shock can cut off supply overnight. Diversifying sources and re-anchoring production closer to demand are essential to protect consumer trust.
–Philip Hampden-Smith
SVP Supply – North America
Reckitt
How to Solve Fragmentation
Supply chain fragmentation—siloed systems, poor visibility, and weak coordination—slows down decisions and raises risk. In today’s volatile world, fragmentation isn’t just inefficient—it’s a major vulnerability that drives up costs and hurts agility.
–Bryan Gerber
Co-Founder & CEO
Hara Supply
Transportation operates as a highly fragmented ecosystem where shippers, consumers, logistics providers, and technologies all have interdependent roles to play in optimizing a transportation network. To unlock the full potential of AI applications, urgency should be placed on building large, clean, integrated data sets that capture the critical inputs needed to make relevant, high-value decisions.
–Brian Cupp
VP Operations & Strategic Initiatives
IntelliTrans
Every partner speaks a different data language. 60% of business data still arrives in formats incompatible with our systems whether it is in EDI format that changes or PDFs, scanned documents, and files. It’s like building a superhighway but forgetting the on-ramps. Until we achieve universal data fluency across partners, every other innovation is hobbled.
–Deepak Singh
Chief Innovation Officer
Adeptia
The misuse of tariff loopholes. Shortcuts like undervaluation and origin fraud are not only illegal—they’re destabilizing for compliant players. Enforcement is rising, and brands must prioritize clean, transparent supply chains.
–Thomas Taggart
VP Global Trade
Passport
Reverse logistics is costly and complex, requiring significant resources for processing, transportation, and inventory management of returned goods. Poorly handled returns damage customer satisfaction and brand reputation, while rising ecommerce volumes make streamlined reverse logistics essential for competitiveness.
–Alison Ponder
Managing Director
FTI Consulting
Ongoing talent shortages. While we can’t control market conditions and disruptions, we can empower our employees with the skills and technology to thrive—increasing their engagement, performance, and satisfaction—by investing more in them. An energized workforce can drive your business through economic uncertainty.
–Eric Allais
President & CEO
PathGuide Technologies
Poor data quality. In a recent JBF/Pando study, 83% cited data quality as the top barrier to artificial intelligence in logistics. High-quality data is critical for autonomous systems—poor data causes errors, disruptions, and failed automation. Data quality isn’t a one-time fix; it demands executive commitment and ongoing, rigorous processes.
–Tara Buchler
Strategy Principal
JBF Consulting
Capable, empowered workers are disappearing. We used to call a long-tenured and engaged person with authority who would fix things that delayed an order. Now we email via a portal and get a reply that our message will be answered within 24 hours. Or get on an automated chat with off-track answers.
–Danny Schnautz
President
Clark Freight Lines
We talk about digital transformation but many supply chains still run on spreadsheets and gut instinct. The real urgency isn’t technology, it’s making bold changes to how decisions are made. Without a cultural shift, even the best tools won’t move the needle.
–Valerie Blatt
Chief Revenue Officer, Supply Chain Management
SAP
Disconnected data is strangling supply chain agility. Every manual step, every missing update, every different form, and every siloed system slows down operations and drives up costs for everyone involved. The industry can’t keep patching over the gaps. It’s time to unify, automate, and give stakeholders the visibility they need to act fast.
–Dawn Russell
Chief Operating Officer
Magaya
The fragmentation of systems and siloed data is a pressing supply chain challenge. Without a unified view, carriers struggle to act on insights in real time, resulting in slower decisions, operational inefficiencies, and missed opportunities. Unified data integrations enable faster responses, strengthen customer trust, and enhance resilience.
–Foster Kaman
VP Transportation & Logistics
Bridgenext
Shippers that effectively manage rising costs will gain a clear competitive edge. Diversifying suppliers and sourcing regions helps mitigate exposure to unstable trade lanes. Building cost transparency with suppliers strengthens resilience and accountability. Meanwhile, deepening carrier partnerships enables mode shift opportunities and supports more predictable pricing / capacity commitments.
–Reinier van Delden
Vice President of Operations
Crowley Logistics
Preventing Cargo Fraud
Cargo fraud is no longer confined to one department—it’s hitting every level of the supply chain. The cost isn’t just financial; it erodes trust with carriers, customers, and partners while creating bottlenecks. Companies need fraud-resilient processes in procurement, vetting, billing, customer interactions, and continuous training to recognize threats.
–Danielle Spinelli
Account Executive
Descartes Systems Group
Freight fraud costs the industry more than $35 billion every year. Criminals target outdated regulations and weak enforcement, harming small businesses, driving up costs, and risking public safety with stolen sensitive goods. Modernized oversight and stronger enforcement are essential to safeguard the supply chain’s trust, competitiveness, and resilience.
–Chris Burroughs
President & CEO
Transportation Intermediaries Association
Fraud is a rising crisis in logistics, costing billions annually through stolen freight, fake carrier identities, and false claims. Combating it requires urgent modernization: Stronger ID verification, centralized tracking, and tougher licensing standards can deter bad actors, reduce loss, and rebuild confidence across brokers, shippers, and carriers.
–Aaron Freedman
CEO
ACI Transport
Retailers are suffering from reverse logistics strain due to increasing returns. In today’s tariff environment, returns can mitigate the impact of tariffs because customs has already cleared these products. Retailers who invest in resale channels and technology like returns management software and automated package lockers optimize the returns workflow and quickly get products back on the shelf.
–Austin Maddox
Executive Vice President of North American Parcel Locker Solutions
Quadient
The lack of integrated, real-time data. Without it, teams across logistics, tax, and finance can’t leverage AI for early warnings or proactive risk management. Investing in the right tech and talent unlocks superior forecasting capability and resilience—critical in today’s volatile trade environment.
–Chris Hall
Senior Tax Officer
Vertex
Most delivery models still assume predictability, but demand is anything but. When networks can’t flex, we see missed windows, empty shelves, and frustrated customers. We need to build more dynamic, tech-enabled capacity that can scale up or down quickly, or we risk breaking the entire system when crunch time inevitably comes.
–Dennis Moon
COO
Roadie
The rising value of cargo and sophisticated criminal networks make supply chain fraud and theft a critical issue. Solutions must include robust carrier vetting to prevent access to high-value shipments, implementation of technologies like real-time sensor monitoring to deter theft, and a concerted effort to educate drivers on best practices for securing loads.
–Dave Ardell
Sr. Vice President, Carrier Sales
Echo Global Logistics
Population decline compounds generationally, leading to labor shortages and potentially reduced consumer demand. Countries with aging populations are already seeing this issue firsthand, with fewer factories and more consolidated supply networks. Innovative technology applications will be key to mitigating these challenges.
–Dave Kiesling
VP Transportation
Kenco
End-to-end orchestration across planning and execution remains underemphasized. When functional silos aren’t tightly aligned, they become a bottleneck for delays, miscommunication, and cost overruns. Instead of simply integrating systems, adopting one unified data platform will provide clean, synchronized, and pervasive data across functions, ensuring faster, more informed decision-making.
–Warren Rojas
Vice President, Strategic Business Development & TMS
Manhattan Associates
The lack of system integration and reliance on disparate platforms. This problem reduces efficiency for individual manufacturers and creates compounding inefficiencies across the wider supply chain. Consolidation and integration streamline operations, boost profits, and, when extended to trading partners, enable automated collaboration and smoother flow of goods.
–Ryan Tierney
SVP, Product
TrueCommerce
Schemes have become much more sophisticated in recent years. By better protecting all cargo, not just high value/high risk freight, we can help secure entire supply chains and shield consumers from rising costs.
–Lou Amo
President, Truck Brokerage
RXO
The risk of being de-prioritized as customers by foreign suppliers with the significant increase in U.S. tariffs. Tariffs have raised the cost of doing business with U.S. companies, making them less attractive compared to customers in countries where suppliers’ margins have remained stable.
–Andrei Quinn-Barabanov
Supply Chain Industry Practice Lead
Moody’s
Variability in business requirements. It is easy to design systems around averages, but this leaves supply chain automation systems unprepared to handle fluctuations in business conditions. There needs to be a willingness to deploy more flexible/scalable technologies.
–Dan Cahalan
Sales Director, Integrated Solutions
Swisslog Americas
Lack of visibility hampers response to disruptions, leads to compliance risks, and hides unethical practices. Greater transparency enables better risk management, ethical sourcing, and more agile, trusted operations in an unpredictable world.
–George Maksimenko
Chief Executive Officer, Adexin