Two-thirds of enterprises see high supply chain risk in 2026, while suppliers are more likely to view the same environment as moderately risky, according to RapidRatings’ 2026 Annual Risk Survey.
"This isn't misalignment," says Charlie Minutella, RapidRatings CEO. "It's a perception gap, where two groups are looking at the same supply chain and seeing different things. Enterprises see systemic risk rippling across their network. Suppliers see operational challenges they can manage in-house. Both are right from where they stand. The question is, how do you get them looking at the same picture?"
Key takeaways:
· Enterprises and suppliers are operating in the same risk environment, marked by rising costs (85% of respondents experienced them in 2025), tariffs, volatility, and ongoing disruption. However, their interpretations of risk severity diverge based on their vantage point.
- 66% of enterprises note high or very high risk with regards to viewing exposure across thousands of suppliers.
- Meanwhile 42% of suppliers note moderate risk managing day-to-day disruption.
- Enterprises experienced disruption at nearly twice the rate of suppliers. 82% of enterprises reported a material supplier disruption in the past 12 months, compared with just 42% of suppliers reporting material impact.
- 66% of supply chain professionals rate the supply environment high/very high risk in 2025 (up from 62% in 2024).
- Tariffs moved from the second-highest expected risk for 2025 to the top actual impact. Economic instability, initially ranked third, materialized as inflation and cost volatility, pushing it up to the second-highest impact.
- In 2025, supply chain disruption was double that of suppliers. 35% of suppliers reported disruption versus 66% of buyers, showing the same risks play out very differently once they cross into buyer operations.
- Technology saw the highest rate of prolonged disruption at 37.5% (2.5 times the overall average), while 100% of healthcare respondents rate the emerging environment as high risk.
- Suppliers rank labor shortages third while procurement ranks it seventh, potentially signaling quality and delivery issues as pressure on suppliers increases.
- Integrating supplier financial health into payment terms initiatives has the capacity to simultaneously address cashflow issues and supplier insolvency issues, two of the leading concerns for 2026. Despite this, only 15% of enterprises have fully integrated supplier financial health into payment-terms decisions—and 30% aren't using it at all.
