Supply chains were once taken for granted—just another routine facet of business operations. How times have changed. Over the past decade they have faced disruption and scrutiny like never before, thrusting them into the spotlight.

International conflict, natural disasters, a global pandemic—there has been reminder after reminder that supply chains can be surprisingly brittle. “Manufacturers are now absolutely focused on ensuring their supply chains are robust and resilient,” says Rohit Moudgil, Head of Manufacturing & Industrials at HSBC UK. “At the same time, they’re having to contend with another imperative, which is to ensure they align with the ESG goals of their own organization as well as their customers’ and partners’.”

The latter involves improving environmental sustainability. A report published by the World Economic Forum argued that decarbonizing supply chains would be “a ‘game changer’ for the impact of corporate climate action”. But there is also pressure for supply chains to be socially responsible, too: free of child labor and unconnected to human rights abuses.

As regulatory pressures concentrate minds, manufacturers are increasingly exploring emerging tools to help address these challenges.

We spoke to three manufacturing Trailblazers to ask them what new supply chain strategies they expect to see come to the fore over the decade ahead…

Read the full article on WIRED here.