Turbulent macroeconomic conditions over the first quarter of the year, including escalating tariffs, global warfare, and the ramping up of cyber threats, have forced supply chain leaders to navigate a complex web of disruptions and make strategic defensive moves.

That’s according to West Monroe’s latest snapshot report, the Q1 2025 Supply Chain Poll, which revealed that despite the attention on the Trump administration’s chaotic tariff measures, cybersecurity is still the priority for supply chain leaders. 

Almost a quarter (23%) of supply chain leaders ranked cybersecurity as their main priority over Q1 2025, with cyber-threats and data security the main source of uncertainty for supply chains, equal to supplier shortages.

However, concerns over US trade policy were not far behind, troubling 20% of supply chain leaders in Q1, followed by rising geopolitical tensions (16%) and the escalating cost of materials (15%).

Despite that, 91% of supply chain leaders are confident that their business can withstand current market volatility, a certainty driven by the 78% of firms that have increased their inventory in preparation for disruption through tariffs and other geopolitical friction.

West Monroe’s survey of 250 industry executives also found that AI is being adopted across supply chains, with 98% of companies having integrated the technology into their operations. 

More than three-quarters (77%) of supply chain leaders said they’re using AI for inventory management, followed by demand forecasting (54%), pricing optimisation (48%), and contract management (46%).

Less than half (44%) of supply chains said they are using emerging tech for workforce planning, and, surprisingly, even fewer (43%) are using AI for logistics and transportation routing.

According to West Monroe, these figures are evidence of a growing wave of AI-driven experimentation, although with many still lacking the right tools, data foundation, and transformation management strategy, these initial moves are not capturing long-term value, with more than a third of companies saying demonstrating ROI is their top challenge (36%).

Businesses are also concerned with finding the right tools for supply chain management (29%), applying new AI features from existing vendors (12%), and procuring fresh talent to design and deploy their AI initiatives (12%).

Investing in AI strategies was cited as the most urgent topic for C-suites to contend with over Q1, tied with bolstering supply chains against tariff uncertainty (both 32%), far ahead of discussions around pricing (16%) and labour shortages (7%).

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West Monroe said that the data suggests a new era of supply chain management, defined less by firefighting and more by forward planning, with supply chain leaders becoming more proactive, tech-enabled and central to enterprise strategy.

“Supply chains are proactively managing disruption, even if they can’t fully control threats like cybersecurity and tariffs,” said Brian Pacula, partner in supply chain practice at West Monroe, and co-author of the report.

“Leaders are responding strategically – leveraging technology, adjusting inventory, and re-evaluating suppliers – to build resilience, reduce risk, and maintain their competitive edge.”