In today's interconnected manufacturing landscape, managing supply chains and suppliers worldwide is a complex, ever-evolving challenge. Wherever they’re based, companies must juggle current geopolitical volatility, sustainability mandates and mounting regulatory burdens. All the while striving for resilience, efficiency and transparency across their supply chain network.
1. The compliance and reporting conundrum
Fragmented reporting overload
Suppliers are frequently overwhelmed by inconsistent and duplicative data requests from multiple brands and compliance schemes. This is a big issue internationally, but one that is specially vexing the fashion and clothing industries. In the fashion industry, a recent story in Vogue Business highlights how fragmented certification standards are creating unsustainable reporting burdens.
Persistent visibility and data blind spots
Lack of traceability into deep-tier supplier networks also significantly undermines ethical sourcing and ESG reporting. Research from the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) found that a striking 90% of the world’s top 2,000 companies reportedly fail to uphold human rights, decent working standards and ethical conduct across their supply networks - often due to poor data visibility and weak strategy.
2. Broader strategic risks in 2025
Geopolitical and climate disruptions
Geopolitical unrest - from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine to trade wars and the whack-a-mole approach to tariffs when doing business with the United States - continues to disrupt transport lanes, ports and supplier access. Concurrently, climate-induced events like floods and wildfires are compromising logistics infrastructure and production hubs. How this ends, if it ends, continues to put pressure on both the equity markets generally, but more specifically the fashion and retail industries as consumer spending continues to be unpredictable.
Cyber-threats and digital vulnerabilities
As supply chains become more digitised, cybersecurity risks escalate. As recently reported in Forbes, attacks on software and supplier networks surged 431% between 2021 and 2023, with nearly half of organisations projected to suffer software supply-chain attacks by 2025.
Limited control and escalating losses
According to a 2025 risk survey from WTW, fewer than 8% of businesses feel fully in control of their supply-chain risks, while 63% report unexpectedly high losses - underscoring the persistent unpredictability and vulnerability of global supply networks.
3. Automation as a catalyst for ESG compliance and reporting
To address these multilayered challenges, manufacturers are turning to AI-powered automation tools that simplify data collection and standardise reporting - particularly for ESG questionnaires and supplier sustainability surveys.
Enter Bendi.ai and VendorPilot, a platform that offers a scalable, AI-driven solution for streamlining supplier and vendor questionnaires. By leveraging pre-existing data and enabling simplified, accurate survey completion, we enable rapid and consistent reporting - ideal for addressing the confusion and complexity of regulatory and brand-specific requirements.
While AI applications in business remain at a somewhat nascent stage more generally, we have already found specific benefits to automation that can are being realised by our customers today.
These include:
Reduced reporting fatigue: automated data population from supplier portals and digital records cuts down the repetitive, manual effort needed to answer questionnaires.
Improved accuracy & consistency: AI-enabled validation ensures cleaner data and standardised formats - vital for all sorts of compliance frameworks.
Faster onboarding & response: suppliers can respond quickly to surveys, reducing delays and accelerating transparency along the supply chain.
Scalability for complexity: whether dealing with dozens or hundreds of questionnaires and regardless of what languages you’re operating in, automation brings operational scalability - easing workloads across the supplier base.
Alignment with global technology trends
Automation aligns with broader digital transformation goals. As manufacturers embrace extended visibility and prescriptive analytics, tools like Bendi.ai offer another dimension: compliance intelligence embedded into supply chain workflows, one of the key trends seen as defining the supply chain evolution by KPMG.
But while some trends may be just that, supply chain compliance and reporting is certainly going to get more complex, not less so. This means automation isn’t just about solving the problems companies are facing today – whether it’s managing their supplier base, or as a supplier themselves managing their reporting requirements – but it’s about future proofing your business.
In the fiercely competitive world of fashion manufacturing, brands are rapidly rethinking their sourcing strategies to stay ahead, including the broader challenges around due diligence. According to the Business of Fashion-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025 report, rising costs, tightening trade policies and geopolitical volatility have driven a strategic shift toward diversified manufacturing hubs and nearshoring. This is a long-term shift and comes with significant risks and co-operation with new trading partners. Any response to these changes and shifting market demands has to be agile and maintainable without an oversized impact on the bottom line if brands are going to survive.
Looking ahead
While the future isn’t getting any less complex, with the right tools it becomes navigable.
In a world where supply chain complexity is only increasing, relying on manual processes and fragmented reporting systems is no longer sustainable. Manufacturers that embrace automation today can not only simplify compliance and reduce supplier fatigue but also build a foundation of trust, efficiency and resilience that will set them apart in tomorrow’s marketplace. The tools are available now, and automation platforms make it easier than ever to streamline supplier ESG questionnaires and ensure accurate, timely reporting.
By embracing automation for supplier ESG and sustainability questionnaires, manufacturers can not only stay ahead of regulatory pressures but also foster supply chain trust, efficiency and resilience - positioning themselves for sustainable success in a complex global landscape.
(Photo credit: Andrew Makely)
