Business Leaders Prioritize Supply Chain Resilience: Study

Cleo research finds 83% of executives have elevated supply chain resiliency to be as important as cybersecurity, according to its 2025 Global Supply Chain Executive Report.

“As customer expectations rise and global challenges evolve, businesses can no longer afford to react—they must proactively anticipate and adapt,” says Tushar Patel, CMO at Cleo. “Building supply chain agility and resilience is vital for companies that want to keep operations running seamlessly, profitably, and competitively, especially in an increasingly unpredictable environment.”

Key takeaways:

●     Top customer expectations include higher product quality (79%); faster delivery (75%); and improved customer service (66%).

●      At the same time, 75% of executives are concerned about geopolitical issues impacting global supply chain operations over the next two years.

●      Economic concerns cited include inflation (60%); regulatory changes (35%); and tariffs (33%).

●      Other technological investments that executives are prioritizing include automation (93%); real-time data (66%); and artificial intelligence (55%).

●      Businesses are also focusing on environmental initiatives, as 47% of customers have rising sustainability standards. The report found that 97% of companies have a sustainability program, driven by goals such as positioning themselves as conscientious industry leaders (55%) and reducing costs (35%).

“By leveraging automation, real-time data integrations, and artificial intelligence, businesses can create a competitive advantage,” adds Patel. “Companies can proactively pivot to market changes, strengthen customer and supplier relationships through real-time insights, and prove they are a reliable, trustworthy supply chain partner that gets the job done on-time in-full, leading to repeat business that boosts revenue.”