Top stories from April

~5 headlines with links to source stories

Businesses search for answers as impact of tariffs hits (NAW, 4/22)

Trump pauses tariffs for most partners, raises China duty (NAM, 4/9)

ID verification key to combating cargo theft (CSCMP, 4/25)

AI seen as tool for procurement amid tariff shifts (CSCMP, 4/23)

Supplier consolidation helps reduce procurement tail spend (CSCMP, 4/28)

Top trend

The biggest newsmaker in the supply chain continues to be tariffs –  really tariffs (and technology) all the time! Companies are trying to find ways to manage the tariff situation. Digital twinning has been discussed frequently in the past couple of weeks. Companies are using it for sustainability purposes and dealing with climate/weather disruptions and theft prevention.

Flexible/layered staffing has also been a hot topic as ports and warehouses deal with unpredictable demand related to the tariffs.

Relevant vendors

Vendors who may benefit from information about or alignment with the trend

Manufacturing and industrial technology vendors would be a good target. Examples: Rockwell Automation, PTC, Siemens Digital Industries and Dassault.

The software providers continue to be viable target. Examples: SAP, Oracle, AnyLogic, Ansys and Blue Yonder

Additional trends

Additional top-of-mind topics for the moment

AI-driven supply chain automation (helps predict demand with more accuracy

Supply chain resilience and risk management - working to avoid stockouts, scenario modeling. Want end-to-end supply chain visibility

Robotics - A way to deal with labor shortages. Example: ecommerce fulfillmentCompanies like Symbotic and AutoStore might be interesting to explore