The top supply chain challenges include…
Demand spikes, government regulations and fraud are all on the minds of supply chain executives as the New Year approaches.
More than half (56%) of surveyed supply chain leaders say they face increasing pressure to provide faster, more flexible delivery and pickup options, while 51% of surveyed consumers say they’re likely to stop buying from brands that don’t offer convenient delivery and pickup choices, according to the new Impinj Supply Chain Integrity Outlook 2026.
The study also reveals social media and influencer trends drove 42% of purchases in 2025, creating unpredictable spikes in demand. Half of supply chain respondents struggle to keep up, and 52% say rapid demand shifts are the biggest threat to supply chain integrity – up nearly 30 percentage points from 2025.
The study, based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers and 750 U.S. supply chain executives in September 2025, also reveals important supply chain trends in areas including tariffs, food safety, counterfeit products and fraud, and artificial intelligence:
Tariffs
Eighty-four percent of supply chain respondents say changing foreign trade policies are affecting their planning, leading to sourcing adjustments (54%) and increased prices for customers (53%). Meanwhile, 56% of consumer respondents say they would stop buying a product if tariff-related costs were passed onto them.
Food safety
Six-in-10 (59%) of food supply chain respondents are worried about meeting FDA traceability requirements, more than one-third expect to miss the deadline, and food brands lose an average of $79 million annually to food waste while predominantly relying on manual tracking systems.
Nearly six-in-ten (59%) respondents are concerned about meeting the FDA’s upcoming Food Traceability Rule (set to go into effect July 20, 2028), and 36% say they won’t make the extended deadline.
[READ MORE: Why food supply chain traceability is a hot topic]
In addition, 58% of supply chain respondents have experienced issues with food recalls impacting brand reputation or revenue in the past year. While 90% express confidence in their organization’s ability to quickly trace and remove recalled products, 70% still rely on manual spreadsheets or logs.
When it comes to reducing waste, 75% of food supply chain respondents cite it as a major challenge, estimating an average annual loss of $79 million per organization through food waste and spoilage.
Fraud and counterfeiting
Seventy-eight percent of supply chain respondents say it’s a challenge to stop unauthorized or fake versions of their products from reaching the market, and 71% report damage to brand reputation or revenue as a result. Roughly six-in-10 (58%) consumer respondents say they would stop buying a brand that unknowingly sold them a counterfeit product.
The study also indicates fraudulent shipping is on the rise. Seventy-six percent of supply chain respondents report an increase in fraudulent shipping incidents, while about four-in-10 (38%) consumer respondents say they have been victimized by shipment fraud, including receiving the wrong item or never getting a package that was marked as delivered. Six-in-10 consumer respondents say one fraudulent shipping experience would cause them to abandon a brand altogether.
AI tops investment priorities
Close to seven-in-10 supply chain respondents (68%) plan to invest in new AI and automation technologies in the next year, even as 51% cite data accuracy as their biggest barrier to effective AI and 41% say it is lack of data availability. Currently, only 42% of supply chain respondents report real-time supply chain visibility capabilities, while 46% report having full item-level traceability in place.
