Weekly intelligence for Supply-Chain, Procurement & CEO desks
🎯 Leadership Nugget: “Procurement is now a springboard to the C‑suite.”
Renault’s chief procurement officer François Provost is reported to be the leading candidate for the company’s next CEO (Reuters, 2025). This places procurement at the center of strategic decision‑making. Companies that view procurement merely as a cost center risk missing the next leap in value creation.
🔍 EXEC SNAPSHOT
🌍 Trade shock – 15 % tariff on most EU goods: On July 27, the United States and the European Union struck a framework agreement imposing a 15 % import duty on most European goods; steel and aluminium remain at 50 % (Reuters, 2025). This averts a threatened 30 % tariff but raises costs for cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
🌱 Hidden climate risks: An S&P report shows that extreme weather events threaten entire supply chains. One example: a single deposit of high‑purity quartz in North Carolina supplies 70 % of the world’s stock; a hurricane in 2024 stopped production and transport (Reuters, 2025). Industries such as agriculture, consumer goods, automotive and chemicals are particularly exposed (Reuters, 2025).
🤖 AI reality check: According to a “Future of Professionals” survey, only 22 % of organisations have a defined AI strategy; companies that do are twice as likely to see revenue growth and save an average of five hours per week per employee (Reuters, 2025).
📉 Business sentiment: In a poll of 1,000 U.S. business owners, 90 % said they are concerned about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on their supply chains; 69 % cited supply chain disruptions and extreme weather as top risks (Reuters, 2025).
🚨 3 Current Cases + 1 Reminder
🚢 Case #1 – US‑EU Tariff Deal
What happened? The new U.S.–EU agreement sets a 15 % tariff on most EU imports and keeps steel and aluminium at 50 % (Reuters, 2025).
What you can do:
✅ Conduct scenario analyses for cost increases and currency risks.
✅ Adjust supplier contracts to absorb tariff hikes (escalation clauses).
✅ Consider near‑shoring and diversification of supply sources.
What happened? A hurricane in 2024 shut down the only source of high‑purity quartz, disrupting chip production worldwide (Reuters, 2025). S&P analyses show many companies overlook physical climate risks in their value chains (Reuters, 2025).
What you can do:
✅ Perform first‑order climate risk assessments across the entire supply chain.
✅ Use technology: satellite monitoring and AI‑powered early warning systems.
✅ Add resilience standards and sustainability clauses to supplier contracts.
🤖 Case #3 – AI in Procurement & Supply Chains
What happened? AI is transforming every stage of the supply chain. Machine‑learning models improve demand forecasts; companies like Walmart and Amazon use AI to plan inventory more precisely, and platforms such as SAP Ariba provide real‑time supplier performance data (Reuters, 2025).
What you can do:
✅ Develop a visible AI strategy; companies with clear strategies are twice as likely to achieve revenue growth (Reuters, 2025).
✅ Launch pilot projects in forecasting and supplier evaluation.
✅ Train employees in data literacy and AI‑based decision-making; 46 % of organisations report skills gaps (Reuters, 2025).
🕰️ Historic Reminder – Hurricane Helene & Quartz Bottleneck 2024
What, where, when? In October 2024, Hurricane Helene struck Spruce Pine, North Carolina, about 300 miles from the Atlantic coast (Reuters, 2025). The town hosts the world’s largest deposit of high‑purity quartz, accounting for roughly 70 % of the quartz used in chip production (Reuters, 2025).
Why relevant? The storm damaged power lines and road and rail links, temporarily halting extraction and delivery of the mineral. Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide had to adjust production schedules because this critical raw material was unavailable (Reuters, 2025).
Lessons for today:
Diversify: Don’t rely on a single source for strategic materials. Explore alternative suppliers and build safety stocks.
Plan for climate risks: Develop scenarios in which extreme weather events create infrastructure bottlenecks.
Increase transparency: Identify critical “single points of failure” in your supply chain and use digital tools to monitor them in real time.
📊 KPI Dashboard
Metric | Latest insight | Implication |
|---|---|---|
U.S.–EU tariff | 15 % on most goods (50 % on steel/aluminium) (Reuters, 2025) | Higher procurement costs and contract adjustments needed |
Organisations with a visible AI strategy | 22 % (Reuters, 2025) | Significant potential; close the strategic gap |
Business owners citing tariffs as a top risk | 90 % (Reuters, 2025) | Active risk planning required |
Industries with high climate sensitivity | Agriculture, consumer goods, automotive, chemicals (Reuters, 2025) | Keep a close eye on value chain exposures |
📝 Leadership questions for your SCM & Procurement team
Which products in our portfolio are most affected by the new U.S. tariffs? How can we hedge price risks?
How transparently do our suppliers disclose their climate risks? Are there alternative sources for critical raw materials?
Do we already have a defined AI strategy? How are we training our team to use data and AI tools effectively?
How do we integrate sustainability and resilience requirements into contracts?
💡 One‑line verdict
Your supply chain now competes on new terrain: trade conflicts, AI disruption and climate risks hit simultaneously. Procurement professionals who think strategically, act data‑driven and embed resilience throughout the value chain will pave their own path to the C‑suite.
📚 Sources
Gray, A., & Shalal, A. (2025, July 28). US and EU avert trade war with 15% tariff deal. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/business/us-eu-avert-trade-war-with-15-tariff-deal-2025-07-28/
Guillaume, G., & Vidalon, D. (2025, July 29). Renault procurement chief Provost is frontrunner for CEO job, media reports say. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/renault-procurement-chief-provost-is-frontrunner-ceo-job-media-reports-say-2025-07-29/
Saini, M. (2025, June 3). Trump tariffs stoke supply chain worries for US businesses, survey shows. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tariffs-stoke-supply-chain-worries-us-businesses-survey-shows-2025-06-03/
Scott, M. (2025, June 16). ESG Watch: Why extreme weather events are just the tip of the iceberg for companies in a riskier world. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/esg-watch-why-extreme-weather-events-are-just-tip-iceberg-companies-riskier-2025-06-16/
Thomson Reuters. (2025, June 26). The AI Adoption Reality Check: Firms with AI strategies are twice as likely to see AI‑driven revenue growth; those without risk falling behind. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/press-releases/2025/june/the-ai-adoption-reality-check-firms-with-ai-strategies-are-twice-as-likely-to-see-ai-driven-revenue-growth-those-without-risk-falling-behind
Serester, L. (2025, June). AI in the supply chain. Practical Law The Journal (Reuters). Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/practical-law-the-journal/transactional/ai-supply-chain-2025-06-01/
