With disruption now a constant, Gartner is calling on Chief Supply Chain Officers to rethink their operating strategies. Speaking at its 2025 Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo, the firm outlined three imperatives for leaders navigating a volatile decade – invest in scenario-based visibility, take commercial accountability beyond logistics, and drive innovation by aligning ambition with capability. Each is vital not just for resilience but for unlocking growth in an increasingly unpredictable world.
Visibility Is No Longer Optional
Gartner urges supply chain leaders to prioritize advanced visibility tools as operational must-haves. According to the firm, supply chain leaders who fail to develop iterative scenario planning capabilities will struggle to anticipate cascading disruptions, from tariff escalations and resource constraints to AI-induced demand shifts.
Yet despite widespread recognition of its value, visibility continues to lag on the investment priority list. According to Gartner’s recent survey, visibility is still a low priority for many supply chain tech budgets, despite being ranked as a critical capability by CSCOs themselves. The contradiction lies in execution as many leaders cite incomplete tech stacks or fragmented data environments as barriers to progress.
Ken Chadwick, Distinguished VP of Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, challenged this reluctance directly: “Leaders need to shift from waiting for perfect data to generating actionable insights from imperfect systems.”
This reframing is critical. The objective isn’t to predict every disruption, but to enable faster decision loops and prepare for multiple scenarios with clarity and confidence. Firms that use what data they have, paired with fit-for-purpose planning models, can begin closing the gap between strategic intent and operational execution.
From Cost Centers to Commercial Co-Pilots
Beyond risk management, Gartner emphasized a more assertive role for CSCOs in shaping commercial outcomes. This includes diversifying supplier and distribution networks not just for resilience, but for agility in responding to changing customer expectations and geopolitical realities. More provocatively, Gartner calls for supply chain leaders to take ownership of outcomes typically siloed within sales, marketing, or product development.
This evolution mirrors broader shifts in how the C-suite perceives supply chain. No longer confined to fulfillment, it is now a strategic lever—capable of catalyzing growth when integrated with innovation roadmaps and customer-centric strategies. In practice, that means supply chain teams must become comfortable with co-owning metrics like revenue impact, speed-to-market, and product viability.
Innovation, the third pillar in Gartner’s framework, is treated not as a blue-sky concept but as a capability discipline. Success hinges on aligning bold ambitions, like AI adoption or circular supply models, with current organizational maturity and talent capacity. That requires CSCOs to be both visionaries and realists, ensuring that their teams are not just equipped to deliver, but inspired to lead.
Rethinking Supply Chain Leadership
Gartner’s framework points to a necessary recalibration of supply chain leadership in a world where volatility is now structural rather than cyclical. Visibility, commercial accountability, and innovation are now the cornerstones of effective operating models that sustain performance amid ongoing uncertainty. But while the path is clear, progress depends on pragmatism. CSCOs will need to prioritize where gains are most achievable, build confidence through incremental wins, and ensure their teams are equipped to sustain change.
