PwC: Supply chain tech investments fall short as tariffs loom
Supply chain executives widely agree that technology investments haven’t met expectations and that shifting trade policies will impact their strategies.
The PwC 2025 Digital Trends in Operations survey reveals that 92% of 610 polled operations and supply chain executives say tech investments haven’t fully delivered the expected results. In addition, 91% of respondents say they will significantly change supply chain strategies because of U.S. trade policy changes.
Following are overviews of how respondents view technology, tariffs, and some other key supply chain issues.
Technology
As mentioned above, 92% of respondents cited at least one reason why supply chain tech investments haven’t fully delivered the expected results, and 83% cited two or more reasons.
Integration complexity (selected by 47%) and data issues (44%) are the most common reasons — a shift from the previous survey and according to PwC analysis is likely an indicator of the struggles of adapting to and leveraging new artificial intelligence solutions as 57% of respondents have integrated AI.
More than half (53%) of respondents said AI is being used in either a few areas or widely to anticipate and mitigate supply chain disruptions. Another 31% said they are testing and piloting AI for those purposes.
Responses were similar for scenario planning and operational transparency, with 55% using AI in at least a few of these areas and 29% testing and piloting AI for scenario planning and operational transparency.
Among technologies used by respondents, AI (59%) and cloud (56%) are tops, and almost all of those respondents say those capabilities are somewhat or very effective in creating value (98% for AI, 96% for cloud).
Although only 21% of respondents said their companies use digital twins (interactive, artificial intelligence-based virtual models that serve as digital replicas of real-life objects and/or environments), 97% of those respondents said that capability is either somewhat or very effective in creating value.
[READ MORE: Hugo Boss builds digital twin for value chain on product visibility]
Similarly, while only 33% of respondents are using Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled supply chain capabilities, 52% of those respondents say they’ve been very effective in creating value.
Economic and geopolitical uncertainty
Roughly nine out of 10 respondents said they expect supplier and material costs will increase significantly in the year ahead. As previously mentioned, a similar percentage of respondents (91%) sidy US trade policy changes are moving them to significantly change supply chain strategies, and almost as many (87%) said geopolitical risks are driving them to more flexible operations.
Planning
More than eight-in-10 (82%) respondents said they face challenges in balancing short-term needs with long-term strategic changes. Almost seven-in-10 (68%) said the challenges are manageable, while 14% said they’re significant.
Training
Respondents are trying multiple ways to develop a digital-ready workforce in operations, and hiring skilled talent and targeted training (47% each) topped the list.
Fewer than one-third of respondents said they’re using gamification or incentives, offering certifications or acquiring a company for talent to build a digital-ready workforce. Yet among the respondents utilizing those methods, about half said they have been very effective.
