From Shock To Strategy: Rethinking Supply Chains For The Next 30 Years
If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that uncertainty is the new normal. Supply chain leaders have navigated a relentless series of shocks—geopolitical upheaval, climate extremes, and rapid technological change. In the World Economic Forum's latest white paper, 'From Shock to Strategy: Building Value Chains for the Next 30 Years,' the message is clear:
Why Supply Chains Must Change
Let's start with the big picture. The WEF's Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains has mapped out a future where 'the only certainty is uncertainty'.
Gone are the days when manufacturers could rely on a predictable, globalized model. Today, 90% of industry leaders are shifting toward regionalization and dual sourcing strategies. Headlines about trade wars, cyberattacks, and climate disasters aren't just background noise, they're the new operating environment.
The Council's white paper frames the conversation around three time horizons—2030, 2040, and 2050—each with its own challenges and opportunities.
The goal? To help companies move from reactive shock management to proactive, strategic value chain design.
Eight Forces Shaping the Future
At the heart of the report there are eight powerful forces that will shape supply chains through 2050:
Three Pillars for Future-Ready Value Chains
So, what does it take to build a value chain that can thrive amid all this change?
The WEF report highlights three strategic pillars:
What Does the Roadmap Look Like?
The near-term focus is on tangible, actionable steps. The report highlights real-world use cases where companies are already making progress—whether it's implementing circular economy models, building regional supply hubs, or using digital twins for scenario planning.
The message is simple: start now and build a foundation for the future.
Looking ahead to 2040, the WEF uses scenario planning to explore how these eight forces might interact. Will regulatory complexity spur innovation or stifle it? Will technology create new divides or bridge old ones? These scenarios aren't predictions—they're tools for stress-testing strategies and building agility into long-term plans.
The 2050 outlook is a call to action. It challenges leaders to think beyond incremental improvement and envision a world where value chains are not only resilient and sustainable, but also inclusive and equitable. Achieving this vision will require bold decisions, cross-sector collaboration, and a willingness to rethink old assumptions.
Key Takeaways for Supply Chain Leaders
As someone who's spent decades in supply chain and manufacturing, I see the WEF's 'From Shock to Strategy' report as both a wake-up call and a roadmap. The next 30 years will be defined by those who can turn uncertainty into opportunity. The time to act is now—because the supply chains we build today will shape the world of tomorrow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Big Yields, Big Companies, Big Investment Opportunities
Prologis is the largest industrial REIT, offering a historically high 3.8% yield. Realty Income is the largest net lease REIT, offering an over 5.6% yield. Simon Property Group is the largest mall REIT, with an attractive 5.2% yield. 10 stocks we like better than Prologis › Dividend investors looking for high-yielding stocks should spend some time examining real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs are specifically designed to pass income on to investors. As the REIT sector has matured, however, a few companies have started to stand out and grow. Three such high-yield, industry-leading REITs you might want to buy today are Prologis (NYSE: PLD), Realty Income (NYSE: O), and Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG). Here's why. Prologis is the lowest-yielding REIT on this list, with a dividend yield of "just" 3.8%. That yield is well above the 1.3% yield of the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), but a touch below the roughly 4% yield of the average real estate investment trust. However, Prologis' yield is near the high end of its yield range over the past decade. That makes this REIT highly attractive, given the relatively rapid pace of dividend growth it has achieved. Prologis is the largest industrial REIT, with a global portfolio of warehouses located in most of the vital distribution hubs of the world. The tariff issues swirling in the news have investors worried and downbeat on Prologis' stock, even though the business continues to perform fairly well. For example, adjusted funds from operations grew 10% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. The average annualized dividend increase over the past decade was over 10%. If you don't mind buying while other investors are selling, Prologis is a giant industrial REIT that looks like it is on sale. You'll need to go in with the belief that the tariff issues in play today will work themselves out over time. But given the interconnectedness of global trade, that seems like a reasonable conclusion. Like Prologis, Realty Income is the largest REIT in its niche. In this case, that niche is net lease. Realty Income's 5.6% yield is well above both the market's and the average REIT's. It also happens to be toward the high end of Realty Income's yield range over the past decade, suggesting that now is a good time to buy this giant dividend stock. Realty Income largely owns single-tenant properties across the U.S. and European markets. The tenants are responsible for most property-level costs (which is what a net lease requires of the tenant). Realty Income is heavily focused on retail assets, which tend to be easy to buy, sell, and release if needed. But it also has exposure to industrial properties and an increasing collection of "other" assets, like vineyards and casinos. In addition to these physical assets, Realty Income has started to make debt investments and to offer its investment services to institutional investors. Basically, it has been steadily increasing the levers it has to pull as it looks to keep growing. This is important because Realty Income is so large that it requires a lot to move the needle on the top and bottom lines. That's the bad news. The good news is that its scale and conservative culture make it a highly reliable dividend stock. On that score, the dividend has been increased annually for three decades and counting. If you don't mind collecting a lofty yield supported by an industry-leading company and slow and steady dividend growth (think low to mid-single digits), you might want to buy Realty Income today. Simon Property Group owns enclosed malls and factory outlet centers. Although most of its assets are in the U.S. market, it has a material number of factory outlet centers that are located overseas. Its portfolio tends to be focused on high-performing retail properties that have leading positions in the regions they service. People like to shop, and Simon gives them a way to do that. The dividend yield is a lofty 5.2%. There's an important caveat here, however. Simon Property Group has a history of cutting its dividend. It did so during the coronavirus pandemic's height and during the Great Recession, both periods of time when the consumer urge to visit a shopping mall waned. Expect cuts like these to happen again, but you should also expect the dividend to get right back on the growth track. That's what happened after the last two dividend cuts, since people tend to get back to shopping as quickly as they can when economic conditions improve. Probably the most important reason to like Simon is its focus on high-quality properties. Essentially, its malls are a big draw for consumers, which makes them a big draw for tenants, too. As lower-quality malls get shuttered, high-quality malls will become more and more attractive. If you can handle a little cyclicality, high-yield Simon has proven a very rewarding dividend stock over the long term. It isn't likely that investors will like all three of these REITs. However, they are each likely to be appealing to at least some investors on their own unique merits. Prologis is an out-of-favor landlord with a strong dividend growth record. Realty Income is a slow and steady tortoise, for those who like reliable dividends. And Simon is a high-quality retail landlord with a cyclical business that is increasingly differentiated from the pack. Before you buy stock in Prologis, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Prologis wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $692,914!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $963,866!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,049% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 179% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Realty Income and Simon Property Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Prologis, Realty Income, and Simon Property Group. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $90 calls on Prologis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Big Yields, Big Companies, Big Investment Opportunities was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ondo, Pantera Capital to Invest $250M in Real-World Asset Projects
Tokenization platform Ondo Finance ONDO and digital asset investment firm Pantera Capital have teamed up to invest $250 million in real-world asset (RWA) projects as the red-hot tokenization trend is accelerating. The initiative, named Ondo Catalyst, aims to invest in protocols and infrastructure projects that enhance the development of tokenized finance and on-chain capital markets, according to a Thursday blog post by Ondo. The initiative will do a mix of equity and token investments, a representative of Ondo told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. "The financial system is undergoing a fundamental upgrade," Nathan Allman, founder and CEO of Ondo Finance, said in the blog post. "By supporting the infrastructure and applications that unlock real-world utility for tokenized assets, we're helping reshape how capital moves around the world." Tokenization is one of the fastest-growing crypto use cases and has captivated big banks, fintechs, asset managers and crypto native firms alike. The process aims to bring traditional financial instruments such as bonds, stocks and real estate, often dubbed RWAs, onto blockchain rails, promising more efficient operations, faster and around-the-clock settlements, broader investor access and programmable transactions. For example, Robinhood, Bybit, Kraken and Gemini have recently introduced trading with tokenized versions of U.S. stocks, while BlackRock and Franklin Templeton issue tokenized money market funds backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries. Ondo is one of the largest tokenized U.S. Treasury issuers, with its OUSG and USDY tokens having a combined market capitalization of nearly $1.4 billion, data by shows. The firm is also developing a layer-1 blockchain network designed for tokenized RWAs. The news of the partnership was first reported by in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bunge & Viterra Close Merger, Form Global Agribusiness Powerhouse
Bunge Global SA BG announced that it closed its previously stated merger with Viterra Limited. This combination forms a global agribusiness company, positioned to meet market demands and deliver enhanced value to farmers and customers worldwide. The merger was announced in June 2023 and was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Bunge and Viterra. In October 2023, Bunge's shareholders approved the merger. The shareholders had also approved the issuance of 65,611,831 common shares, par value of 1 cent per share of Bunge. The deal faced several setbacks, including regulatory challenges and concerns over competition in the global market, resulting in merged entity will boast an enhanced global network with a diversified agriculture network covering all major crops. The combination of both companies' highly complementary asset footprints and distribution networks will connect the world's largest production regions to areas of the fastest-growing demand. This will enhance the geographical balance and adaptability of the global value chains. A diversified global mix of earnings across processing, handling and merchandising and value-added products will lead to solid cash flow with increasing operational efficiency, the combination will further enhance Bunge's innovation know-how. This will equip the company to address the pressing needs of food security, efficiency for end-customers, market access for farmers and sustainable food, feed and renewable fuel combination is expected to benefit from significant incremental network synergies across joint commercial excellence opportunities, vertical integration efficiencies, and improved logistics optimization and trading optionality from a larger and broader merger is expected to lead to $250 million in annual gross pre-tax operational synergies in the first three years. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Bunge's adjusted earnings per share in the first full year post closing. It is anticipated to improve with the realization of synergies. Shares of Bunge have lost 23.1% over the past year compared with the industry's 9.6% decline. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research BG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, SSR Mining Inc. SSRM and ATI Inc. ATI. These three companies currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks Technology has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS' 2025 earnings is pegged at $7.20 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 51.9%. Carpenter Technology shares have skyrocketed 111% last Mining has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 58.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SSRM's 2025 earnings is pegged at $1.14 per share, implying year-over-year growth of 307%. SSR Mining stock has surged 88.6% last has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.54%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI's 2025 earnings is pegged at $3.01 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 22.4%. ATI shares have jumped 54% last year. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ATI Inc. (ATI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Bunge Global SA (BG) : Free Stock Analysis Report Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
