Margin Pressure Shapes Supply Chain Strategy in Q3, West Monroe Poll Finds

Leaders are using pricing, supplier strategies, and AI to safeguard profitability and stay agile amid shifting tariff policies.

CHICAGO, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- West Monroe, a global business and technology consulting firm, today released its Q3 findings from the West Monroe Quarterly Supply Chain Poll, revealing that business leaders are under mounting pressure to protect margins in their supply chains—driving them to lean more heavily on price increases, supplier consolidation, and AI productivity gains. This poll tracks how executives in retail, manufacturing, and distribution are adapting their supply chains to ongoing disruption.

In Q3 2025, 250 senior executives shared how they're managing through continually changing tariff policies: deploying tactical moves in sourcing, pricing, and technology adoption.

Key findings from the Q3 2025 poll include:

• Margin strain is widespread. Despite sales growth of 40%, 85% of leaders say they face pressure to protect margins.
• Tariff uncertainty continues. Sixty-eight percent say a Supreme Court reversal of tariffs would benefit their supply chains, with leaders citing stronger potential sales and greater stability.
• AI adoption is nearly universal—but ROI still remains elusive. Ninety-nine percent report productivity gains from AI, yet ROI is still cited as the top challenge.

"The data tells a story we see across the market: AI is delivering tangible productivity every day—yet proving ROI is still quite difficult," said Jeremy Tancredi, partner in West Monroe's supply chain practice and co-author of the poll. "That's a disconnect. ROI does exist, but it needs to be defined and measured differently. Until leaders bridge that gap, AI adoption will stall short of its true potential."

The findings reflect supply chains operating in a pressure cooker: Very few are experiencing declining sales—the majority are flat or growing—yet 85% are being asked to apply a protectionist mindset to their margins, either through immediate action or influence on their ongoing initiatives. Like in Q2, companies are still optimizing for the near term—tightening operations, adjusting sourcing and transportation, though they are increasingly passing costs on to customers—while monitoring the policy backdrop and Supreme Court developments that could reset planning assumptions overnight.

"Executives may be reporting sales growth, but margin pressure cuts across the board. That's why we're seeing leaders lean more heavily on raising prices, consolidating suppliers, and pushing for efficiency gains through AI," said Brian Pacula, partner in West Monroe's supply chain practice and co-author of the poll.

The West Monroe Quarterly Supply Chain Poll was conducted online September 16–20, 2025, surveying 250 U.S.-based manufacturing, retail, and distribution executives from companies with at least $500 million in annual revenue. The survey was commissioned by West Monroe and fielded by RepData LLC.

West Monroe is a trusted partner to supply chain leaders across industries, helping organizations build agile, tech-enabled operations that can withstand disruption and drive growth. Our team brings deep industry and technology expertise to optimize sourcing, streamline planning, and enhance resilience across the supply chain.

Download the full results of the Q3 2025 Supply Chain Poll here: https://www.westmonroe.com/insights/q3-2025-supply-chain-poll

About West Monroe

West Monroe is a global business and technology consulting firm passionate about creating value for our clients. We co-create solutions that accelerate results now and prepare industries to tackle what's next. We're excited by the possibilities that technology creates. We work with our clients to deliver on the possible, building on their goals, generating fresh insights and creating inspiring outcomes.

We excel at the intersection of industry, strategy, people and technology—always driving rapid impact. Our all-in approach comes from our unique employee ownership structure. Our clients' success is our success. From the beginning, our growth has come from putting people at the center. Fortune and USA Today consistently celebrate West Monroe as a top workplace, and we're recognized as a leading consultancy by Forbes and Forrester. Let's find more value for your business.

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SOURCE West Monroe