Podcast Summary: Survey Results – 2025 Trends and Attitudes Report in Supply Chain and Sustainability

Podcast: Supply Chain Now
Episode Air Date: November 10, 2025
Host: Scott Luton
Co-Host: Maria Villa Blanca
Guests: Dr. Dinesh Dave (Appalachian State University), Evan Yunker (Spark360)

Overview

This episode dives deep into the landmark “2025 Supply Chain Trends and Attitudes Report,” a collaborative annual survey by Appalachian State University and Spark360, capturing the voices of over 300 U.S.-based supply chain managers. The conversation tackles the evolving priorities and challenges in the industry, with special focus on technology investments (particularly AI), sustainability drivers, the impact of regulatory and trade policies (like tariffs), and the increasing importance of collaboration and partnerships. The panel blends insightful data interpretation with boots-on-the-ground perspectives, offering both strategic and practical takeaways for supply chain professionals contending with unprecedented complexity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Partnerships and Collaboration

• Opening Thought: Maria emphasizes a new competitive advantage in supply chains:

  “Partnerships and collaboration are the new competitive advantage. The best supply chains aren’t just built on transactions, they’re built on trust and shared data.” (00:00, Maria)

• Strengthening relationships across the value chain, and with trusted partners, is cited as essential for resilience in an era of “poly crisis.”

2. About the Survey: Scope and Methodology

• Survey Details:

  • Over 300 U.S. supply chain managers across different levels participated (late September 2025).
  • Designed to gauge current and future supply chain tech, sustainability, regulatory, and risk priorities.
  • Methodology highlights statistical robustness (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93).

• Complementing Experience & Expertise:

  • Appalachian State brings academic rigor; Spark360 provides grounded, operational insight.

  “Spark360 isn’t made of consultants. It’s warehouse operators and supply chain managers who’ve spent their entire careers in the field.” (08:20, Evan)

3. AI Adoption: Momentum and Caution

• Key Findings:

  • AI remains the leading technology for both expected and "should be" investments, with growing familiarity year-over-year.
  • Adjacent tech like visibility platforms are also priorities.

• Big Caution:

  “People feel the pressure to do this perhaps before they should... If you don’t plan it out, it ends up backfiring.” (14:07, Evan)

• Implementation Gap:

  “There’s a gap between understanding and utilizing technology and actually explaining or finding its value.” (17:04, Maria)

• Success Factors:

  • True value emerges when cross-functional teams develop strategy and shared ownership, not when chasing hype.

4. Broader Technology Investments: Intent vs. Reality

• Trends:

  • Increased ambition for tech investments (AI, robotics, predictive analytics, etc.), but a clear ambition–action gap.
  • This gap is widest for green tech and sustainability compared to efficiency technologies.

• External Factors:

  • Familiarity with AI is rising; conversely, awareness around renewable energy tech is dropping—possibly linked to shifting regulatory/political landscapes.

• Advice:

  “We need to take a step back… Prioritize what’s important to our customers, then employees and shareholders.” (22:26, Maria)

5. Data Security in a Transformational Era

• Emerging Solutions:
  • New tools (data mesh, secure data manipulation) enable valuable analytics without compromising source data.

  “We’re seeing this a lot with defense clients, where you can manipulate data and produce output without storing it—maintaining source security.” (23:46, Evan)

6. The Sustainability Imperative

• Key Drivers:

  • Sustainability scores highly across drivers: government regulation, brand, customer demand, recruiting young talent.

• Ambition Persists:

  “All of those drivers still ranked between extremely and highly important. These drivers are here to stay—they’re not going anywhere.” (25:24, Evan)

• Action Lag:

  • A notable portion of respondents value sustainability but remain neutral, struggling to justify ROI.
  • Growing recognition that tech can help bridge measurement and execution gaps.

• Quote of Note:

  “Sustainability isn’t going to go away... Companies need to weigh the risk of not implementing these initiatives.” (28:04, Maria)

7. Tariffs & Geopolitics: Navigating Polycrisis

• Survey Results:

  • Perceived impact of tariffs leans negative but is somewhat balanced, with about 25–28% noting a positive impact (primarily depending on industry or competition).
  • No major differences in perception by company size or sector.

• Resilience Redefined:

  “We’re in a time of complete polycrisis and volatility… It’s about how supply chains can respond to whatever’s next, not just resilience.” (32:12, Maria)

• Digital Tools:

  • Technologies like digital twins are essential for scenario planning and rapid adaptation.

8. The Realities Facing Supply Chain Leaders

• Rising Demands & Executive Overwhelm:

  • Cost-effectiveness, resilience, AND sustainability are all non-negotiable—leaders must deliver all three.

  “Supply chain managers are being told they have to be cost effective, resilient, and sustainable—all at once. That’s the new normal.” (33:59, Evan)

• Surprising Survey Takeaway:

  • “I had expected some things—especially sustainability—to fall off. The surprise is that there wasn’t a surprise: ambition stays high.” (33:22, Evan)

9. The “Secret Sauce”: Collaboration & Culture Shift

• Partnerships as Differentiators:

  • Collaboration with suppliers is extremely high, fueled by shared data and trust, not just transactions.

  “Partnerships and collaboration are the new competitive advantage… A reset in mindset is the key to resilience.” (40:15, Maria)

10. Looking Ahead: Expansion and Global Insights

• Plans underway for international expansion of the survey, starting in The Netherlands and France, tracking global variations in trends and attitudes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On partnership and trust:

  “Partnerships and collaboration are the new competitive advantage.” (00:00, Maria)

• AI Hype vs. Reality:

  “When you use a hammer in every situation, everything looks like a nail. Everything is not a nail.” (15:52, Scott paraphrasing Maslow)

• Strategic technology adoption:

  “You have to get the right people in the room and develop a real strategy. Hysteria won’t produce results you can measure.” (17:52, Evan)

• Sustainability as a must:

  “Sustainability isn’t going away… Companies do have that inaction issue, because they don’t know how to measure the ROI.” (28:04, Maria)

• New reality for leaders:

  “Everybody’s being asked to do a lot more with a lot less, that’s going to continue… How do we rethink leadership to handle this overwhelm?” (35:48, Maria)

• Practical action:

  “Best supply chain leaders aren’t waiting for the perfect conditions—they’re investing in visibility, piloting sustainability, and building partnerships today.” (46:03, Maria)

• Fun moment on pizza and supply chain:

  “Visibility, analytics, and AI are the base ingredients. Sustainability is the topping that makes the supply chain worth sharing.” (46:37, Maria)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–03:25: Icebreaker, panel introductions, partnership emphasis
• 06:09–09:18: Background on App State’s program and Spark360
• 10:14–12:33: Survey scope, methodology, and rationale
• 14:07–18:38: AI investment findings, implementation challenges, assessment strategies
• 19:58–23:26: Broader technology investment trends, ambition–action gap
• 23:46–24:34: Secure data and emerging tech solutions
• 24:34–28:41: Sustainability drivers, ambition vs action analysis
• 29:20–32:12: Tariffs, geopolitical volatility, and adaptation strategies
• 33:22–36:36: Key surprises, executive overwhelm, leadership challenges
• 40:15–41:03: The role of partnerships in navigating supply chain challenges
• 42:04–42:56: Survey’s international expansion plans
• 46:03–46:37: Closing takeaways (pizza metaphor)
• 46:37–end: Final remarks, contact info, and resources

Resources & How to Connect

• Full Survey Download: Available October 14, 2025 (details provided during episode)
• Contact the Panel:
  • Evan Yunker (Spark360): LinkedIn; email evan.yunker@sparq360.com; sparq360.com
  • Dr. Dinesh Dave (Appalachian State): LinkedIn; daved@appstate.edu
  • Maria Villa Blanca: LinkedIn; mariavillablanca.com; Podcast: "Transform Talks"

Final Takeaways

• Don’t Wait: Top supply chain leaders are moving forward now—on visibility, sustainability, and partnerships—despite ongoing uncertainty.
• Collaboration is King: The industry’s new competitive differentiator is deep, trust-based collaboration.
• Act with Purpose: Technology, from AI to sustainability tools, must tie to real business objectives and value—not just trend-chasing.
• Resilience is Response: The focus is shifting from “resilient supply chains” to organizations that can respond rapidly and strategically to whatever comes next.
• Ambition is High—Action Must Follow: The ambition–action gap remains a challenge, particularly in green tech and sustainability. Bridging it is the task for leaders in 2025 and beyond.

For supply chain professionals, this episode is a must-listen for actionable intelligence, affirmation of both pains and wins, and practical wisdom on navigating a fast-changing future.