At SmartBrief and Future B2B, we keep our fingers on the pulse of the trends and market forces shaping the industries we cover, and the leaders, organizations and businesses that are making a difference. Examining the stories our audiences find most valuable helps us better understand the trends that matter -- and enables us to more effectively serve our professional readers and clients.
Here is some of what our audience of industry decision-makers found most valuable last month.
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
