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2026 France Supply Chain Barometer – BearingPoint: 85% of companies are investing in technology to meet customer expectations
France Supply Chain, through its Digital and Technology LAB and in partnership with BearingPoint, has published the third edition of its Supply Chain Technology Trends Barometer. Conducted between June and October 2025 among companies across various sectors, this study reveals that digital transformation has become more mature, more selective, and focused on value creation.
Key points:
- Customer focus: 85% of companies invest in technology to better meet their customers' expectations.
- Key technologies: RPA, IoT, traceability, and artificial intelligence are at the top of the list of priorities.
- Automation and robotics (LMRA) are on the rise: 66% of companies have already implemented solutions.
- AI: It is primarily used to optimize demand and flows.
- Key challenges: Companies cite execution (49%), scaling (36%), and profitability (35%) as the main obstacles.
A more thoughtful approach to technology adoption
Five years after the initial steps were taken, companies are now adopting a pragmatic and selective approach to technology. Some technologies, such as blockchain, are losing their appeal, while others—including RPA, the IoT, traceability, and AI—are becoming firmly established.
“Organizations are neither blindly enthusiastic nor skeptical. They are looking for the right application, in the right place, for the right business,” says Éric Pradoux, Senior Supply Chain Expert at BearingPoint.
Customer expectations remain the primary driver of investment
For 85% of companies, changing customer expectations remain the primary driver of technology investments. The supply chain is widely viewed as a driver of customer satisfaction, differentiation, and competitiveness. Furthermore, 72% of companies consider the digitization of customer relations to be a key factor in 2025 (77% in 2020), a sign of the growing maturity of supply chain strategies.
Regulatory requirements—particularly those related to traceability, compliance, and sustainability—are also becoming a key factor for nearly one in two companies.
Data management: a strategic initiative
Data management is becoming a cornerstone of supply chain transformation. The industrial sector appears to be the most advanced: 72% of companies have defined their data strategy, compared with 60% among logistics providers and 55% in the retail sector. Today, 66% of companies leverage their data through advanced analytics, primarily within large corporations.
AI for a Smarter Supply Chain
Data analytics opens up a world of possibilities, particularly through artificial intelligence technologies. Indeed, the survey shows that theprimary benefit of AI in the supply chain is its ability to leverage increased volumes of data to make better and faster decisions, particularly to optimize demand and flows.
- In the retail sector, 91% of respondents cited demand optimization and 64% cited transportation optimization.
- In the industry, the top priority is planning and scheduling (60%).
- Logistics providers, for their part, prefer to model workflows using digital twins (80%).
Process Automation and Robotics: Varying Levels Across Industries
Only 23% of the supply chains among respondents, across all sectors, are found to be mostly or fully automated, with variations across processes (17% for the least automated processes—namely Receiving and Packing— versus 29% for Order Fulfillment).
39% of companies have largely or fully automated their production processes. The most automated processes are machine monitoring, production instructions, and work-in-progress tracking.
The percentage of companies that have implemented LMRA ( Logistics or Manufacturing Robotization & Automation ) rose from 55% in 2020 to 66% in 2025, with certain sectors leading the way:
- Distribution: 73%
- Industry: 67%
- Logistics providers: 60%
RPA continues to grow: 67% of companies will be using it by 2025, up from 49% in 2020, primarily in back-office operations (40%) and supply chain processes (27%).
Circularity and decarbonization: emerging challenges
The transition to a more sustainable supply chain is still in its early stages: 8% of companies have adopted circularity, while 74% are in the exploratory phase and 18% have not yet taken any steps in this direction.
Methodology
This third edition of the survey was conducted between June and October 2025 by France Supply Chain’s Digital and Technologies LAB, in partnership with BearingPoint, based on a questionnaire supplemented by qualitative interviews. The panel consists primarily of large corporations (76% have more than 1,000 employees and 63% generate more than €1 billion in revenue), with respondents mainly holding executive positions. The surveyed companies are primarily from the manufacturing sector (61%), retail (16%), and logistics and transportation providers (14%), supplemented by software publishers, consulting firms, and service companies.
About France Supply Chain by Aslog
For more than 50 years, the France Supply Chain association has been pursuing its mission of bringing together companies, business schools and research organizations to innovate, share best practices and provide concrete solutions to the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Think and Do Tank, with over 450 member companies and schools, 800 active members involved in our projects, and an audience of 7,000 players, we promote exchange and collective action for a more robust and responsible Supply Chain. As of January 2025, the association' s public-interest activities will be carried out by the SUPPLY CHAIN 4 GOOD endowment fund, starting with projects to decarbonize and sustain our Supply Chains.
Press contact: Marie-Laure Laville - MLD Consulting - Tel: +33 (0)6 18 14 85 36 - mllaville@mldconsulting.fr
