BSI research shows persistent supply chain disruption is prompting 36% of US businesses to plan price increases over the next six months as higher input, freight and continuity costs reshape commercial decisions. Companies are also reassessing inventory, product portfolios and sourcing strategies to protect supply.
Resilience Spending Reaches The Customer
The BSI research points to a direct reset of customer commitments. Alongside planned price increases, 24% of businesses expect to reduce the number of SKUs they offer, while 68% are already pausing new orders. Some 81% are warning customers, or preparing to warn them, about shortages, delays and supply dependencies.
These measures reveal a strategic break in how disruption is managed. Price, assortment and lead time are becoming integrated supply chain decisions. Reducing SKU counts can release inventory, capacity and planning resources for higher-priority demand. Order pauses provide a stronger control when available supply cannot support existing service commitments.
The underlying preparedness gap remains significant. Only 30% of organizations considered themselves fully prepared for shortages of raw materials or components during the previous six months. That sits alongside direct experience: 50% encountered material or component disruption, and 49% were affected by geopolitical events.
Repeated shocks are exposing the limits of continuity plans designed around isolated events. Climate incidents, geopolitical tension, disrupted shipping routes and freight theft can now affect the same network simultaneously. The operational requirement is continuous exposure management across supply, capacity, transport and customer demand.
Multiple Countermeasures Create a Coordination Test
Businesses are assembling broad resilience portfolios. Some 81% are building or preparing to build strategic inventory buffers, 78% are nearshoring or considering it within 12 months, and 79% are changing or planning to change transport modes. Over the next six months, 37% expect to add suppliers and 28% anticipate shifting trade routes.
Each intervention operates on a different timeline and financial logic. Inventory buffers can protect near-term service but consume working capital and increase carrying costs. Nearshoring requires supplier qualification, capacity validation and potentially new manufacturing investment. Transport changes alter cost, lead-time and emissions assumptions.
Executing these measures together creates additional dependencies. A new supplier may require different inventory policies, quality controls and transport routes. A mode change can invalidate planning parameters elsewhere in the network. Scenario models therefore need to connect operational choices with margin, cash, service and risk exposure before resources are committed.
Workforce pressure adds another constraint. One in five businesses expects to cut jobs or reduce recruitment because of supply chain costs. Network redesign depends heavily on planning, sourcing and logistics expertise, making capability retention part of the resilience equation.
Resilience Investments Need Ongoing Reassessment
Resilience measures introduced during one disruption can become permanent features of the cost base if they are not reviewed as conditions change. Regularly testing inventory policies, supplier portfolios and transport strategies against current demand, lead times and market conditions can help organizations retain the protection they need while avoiding unnecessary cost and complexity as supply networks continue to adjust.
