Global supply chains are undergoing a strategic reorientation, shifting from resilience-building toward technology-enabled value creation. KPMG Ireland's Supply Chain Trends 2026, published in January 2026 and authored by David O'Kelly, Partner, identifies six trends shaping supply chain competitiveness for Irish organisations. Ireland's multinational hub status and growing digital infrastructure place it well to capitalise. For logistics and transport decision-makers, investment in AI, integrated operating models, and next-generation metrics will determine competitive positioning in the year ahead.

The KPMG report argues Ireland's supply chain function has reached an inflection point. The convergence of AI maturity, operating model change, and boardroom accountability is creating genuine opportunity. Three trends are most consequential: embedding AI at scale, migrating supply chain into Global Business Services structures, and adopting expanded metrics connecting delivery to resilience, sustainability, and customer experience.

AI in the supply chain is moving from pilot to platform. A Gartner survey of 509 supply chain leaders in late 2025 identified AI and agentic AI as the single most influential driver redefining supply chain strategy, and predicts 60 per cent of disruptions will be resolved without human intervention by 2031. The Blue Yonder Supply Chain Compass 2026, surveying 678 senior professionals across North America and Europe, reports 45 per cent already use predictive AI, with generative AI adoption doubling year-on-year to 24 per cent. KPMG anticipates the most advanced organisations will achieve Connected Intelligence, linking supply chain with procurement, finance, ESG, and customer systems to form an autonomous ecosystem.

Operating model centralisation presents a significant structural opportunity. The KPMG report identifies supply chain as the next function to migrate into Global Business Services organisations, following finance, HR, and IT. Centralised supply chains improve network visibility, leverage cost efficiencies, and deliver stronger risk governance. For Irish operators, this creates conditions to integrate control towers, standardise demand planning, and unify procurement and fulfilment.

Performance measurement is also being redefined. The report identifies a shift in supply chain reporting, with traditional metrics expanded to include visibility, resilience, sustainability, and partner experience. This reflects recognition that supply chains are strategic assets and that boardroom visibility of end-to-end performance underpins competitive decision-making. Irish organisations adopting these metrics will be better placed to allocate capital and demonstrate value to customers and investors.

Three responses merit prioritisation. Leaders should accelerate AI integration by building the data infrastructure that Connected Intelligence requires. Organisations should map supply chain processes against Global Business Services readiness criteria, identifying repeatable activities for standardisation. Boards should update performance dashboards to incorporate the metrics KPMG identifies, ensuring resilience, sustainability, and customer experience data inform decisions.

Ireland's logistics and transport sector has consistently absorbed structural change and emerged stronger. KPMG Ireland's Supply Chain Trends 2026, corroborated by Gartner and Blue Yonder data, provides a rigorous framework for converting adaptive capability into strategic leadership. Globally, organisations that have moved earliest on AI embedding and supply chain governance outperform on cost efficiency, service reliability, and risk response speed. For Irish supply chain leaders, the tools to lead this transition are available now.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)