The Quest for Supply Chain Resilience Remains Challenging

In their efforts to find solid ground, manufacturers have devoted countless hours and significant sums to initiatives aimed at reducing supply chain risk. Parsec’s 2026 State of the Manufacturing Industry (SOMI) Report found that industry leaders, in general, are seeing benefits from these investments. 

However, it also revealed that the work to firm up supply chains amid so much uncertainty is far from over. 

The 2026 SOMI Report is a portrait of an industry that’s rounding a corner. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of manufacturing leaders now describe their supply chain operations as resilient, up from 50% two years ago. Two-thirds (66%) feel extremely or very prepared to address current supply chain issues — an eight-point increase from 2024. 

The journey to increased confidence is the result of a multipronged approach. Surveyed leaders report taking steps to promote supply chain stability by addressing three critical facets of operations. 

Partnership. More than half (58%) of leaders say they’ve invested resources in initiatives to strengthen supplier relationships, and 44% focused on diversifying their networks. 

Management. Investing in technologies that promise to optimize and streamline management was also popular, with 58% of respondents saying they’ve adopted targeted technologies, like Supply Chain Management (SCM) software. 

Inventory planning. Leaders also report rethinking how they manage production and inventory, with 53% saying they’ve increased on-hand inventory to offset the impacts of up- and downstream disruptions. 

In combination, these efforts reveal a shifting understanding of supply chain management among manufacturing leaders. They recognize that resilient supply chains are the product of holistic optimization: as reliant on tactical adjustments and modernization as they are on more interpersonal efforts like relationship maintenance. 

That said, rounding this critical corner is far from the end of the journey. In fact, leaders appear to have encountered a cliff on the other side. Significant challenges remain, with the obstacles leaders report encountering ranging widely. 

From materials shortages and price volatility (33%) to transportation and logistics issues (31%) to geopolitical tensions (30%) and natural disasters (25%), the potential for disruption is varied and nearly universal. Just 1% of respondents made it through the prior year (February 2025 to February 2026) without supply chain issues. 

Though the reported challenges are varied, one area of difficulty took the top spot. Lack of visibility into increasingly complex networks was the most-cited challenge among respondents, with 34% identifying lack of insight as an obstacle to stability. It’s an admittedly modest lead over the rest, but that is revealing in itself. If, as reported, 99% of respondents experienced at least one disruption during the study period, the number citing visibility should be about three times higher. 

All the challenges identified are — in one way or another — products of poor visibility throughout manufacturing operations and the larger supply chain. Hints of a looming shortage may lie in delays in confirmation, weather patterns, or commodity price volatility. Seeing the problem on the horizon won’t make the obstacle disappear, but it does let businesses prepare.  

That’s where leaders are falling short, many without realizing it. Leaders can tweak inventory planning, identify alternative materials, and firm up supplier relationships all they want. They won’t know if they’re making the right changes unless they can see the reality of their operations, track market trends, and identify issues as they arise. That advanced notice is what allows leaders to make the right next step — the one that most effectively staves off delays, downtime and losses. 

Real-time visibility into inventory, logistics, and factory data is precisely what enables manufacturers to overcome supply-related challenges. The SOMI report revealed that just 35% have foundational operational data-driven systems (like MES, QES, or CMMS) in place, and only slightly more reported having unified, data-driven strategies. Though 72% say they use AI within their operations, only 10% have standardized use across the enterprise. 

It’s in these figures that the disconnect becomes apparent. Interest in optimization is high; understanding of the challenges is too. When asked why standardized adoption of technologies has lagged, leaders cite very real concerns. Cost, security and integration complexity were the top challenges identified, with two in five leaders noting issues in each of these areas. What’s being lost in translation, it seems, is that confronting these challenges now is precisely what enables organizations to avoid costlier incidents down the line. 

Making sense of the picture hinges on bringing disparate sources together. After all, supply chain disruptions do not happen in isolation. Incidents on factory floors across the globe today can quickly turn into tomorrow’s delays, missing items, and wasted material at home. The level of supply chain agility manufacturers anticipate needing in today’s market only comes through end-to-end integration of data from all the places in between. 

Increased investments in SCM tools are a good start, but these platforms primarily help leaders optimize execution for supply chain decisions they’ve already made. To close the gap, they need insight into data that informs the next decision. Otherwise, even the most fine-tuned plans and seamless execution will drop fixes in the wrong place, at the wrong time, or both. 

Justin Bastawrose is technical enablement director at Parsec Automation.