2026 prediction comments from Ivalua on the forces set to shape supply chains.

Alex Saric, Smart Procurement Expert at Ivalua:

Continued tariffs will reshape trade corridors and push organizations to game their supply chain management: “As tariff-tennis rages between nations and geopolitical shocks continue, 2026 will see business leaders adapt by ‘gaming’ supply chain management to keep costs and risk down. This means diversifying supply routes, building new supply paths, and shifting final assembly locations to navigate trade complexities without the need for costly nearshoring. Successful organizations will be able to identify and carve out cost-effective trade routes that mitigate the impact of tariffs and other disruptions, increasing competitiveness and reducing risk.

Betting on geopolitics is a risky game. To make effective decisions and identify where savings can be made, organizations need granular, real-time knowledge of their full supplier networks. AI will be critical to help teams sift through international complexities, bring dispersed data together, highlight potential risks, identify alternative suppliers, and give procurement teams the foresight to act before major price hikes. If a critical shipping route closes, AI can model different logistics scenarios to keep production on track and costs under control.”

The best supplier relationships will buy access no money can: “Supplier relationships will be businesses’ most valuable currency in 2026. As access to critical materials tightens and demand for manufactured goods accelerates, organizations with shallow or transactional supplier networks will find themselves at the back of the queue. The EU’s push to build a central minerals stockpile shows how aggressively regions are now competing for access. Similarly, mitigating the effects of shifting trade policies and delivering more innovative, sustainable products will depend on effective collaboration with suppliers.

“Suppliers will favour customers who make it easy to do business and share information. That means less friction around onboarding, compliance checks, forecasts, and fast-changing trade requirements. AI agents will guide suppliers through processes, helping them upload documentation correctly, answering policy questions instantly and flagging issues before an order stalls. Instead of long email chains and uncertainty about what is needed, suppliers will experience a clear path from first contact to first order.

“The most advanced organizations will extend this support beyond onboarding, using AI to surface the impact of new tariffs or regulations and work with suppliers on ways to mitigate them. Human-to-human relationships will still sit at the centre, but they will be supported by digital colleagues that keep information flowing and remove administrative noise. In that environment, access becomes a reward that suppliers are eager to offer.”

Pascal Bensoussan, Chief Product Officer at Ivalua:

The new procurement ROI: Measuring the value of intelligent collaboration: “The new procurement ROI in 2026 will be driven by intelligent collaboration between humans and AI. The compounding commercial gains will come from teams finally having the bandwidth to build long-term relationships. Early agent deployments show modest time savings, but the real value — often 7x or more — comes from what teams can finally do once supported by AI that handles the transactional work. As agents take over intake, AP validation, supplier onboarding and other repetitive flows, procurement gains the capacity to engage suppliers more strategically and consistently. This human-machine hybrid operating model will drive deeper collaboration, resulting in better proposals, lower total cost, stronger SLAs, and clearer visibility into risk and sustainability.”

How no-code AI will turn every procurement pro into a digital team builder: “No-code AI will let procurement teams build digital workflows and automate routine tasks without writing a line of code. Professionals who once relied on IT will be able to design their own processes, connect stakeholders, and stand up cross-functional collaboration in minutes.

AI will accelerate the work, but human judgment will decide how teams align, share information and act on insights. Leaders who lean into this shift will turn procurement into a digital collaboration engine – faster, smarter and far more adaptive.”