Small and medium-sized businesses face a complex web of supply chain challenges, according to a recent survey by Netstock, a supply chain planning and inventory management software provider. The survey, which polled over 150 SMB customers, revealed that 2026 has brought a multitude of issues beyond the previous year’s focus on tariffs.
The top concerns among respondents were supplier lead time swings (29%), raw material and input costs (23%), freight and shipping costs (23%), and demand shifts (21%). When asked to identify the leading challenges, 77% mentioned supplier lead time, 72% cited freight, 66% pointed to raw material costs, and 57% highlighted demand shifts.
The report notes that the current supply chain environment is characterized by chaos, with multiple variables shifting simultaneously, unlike the more typical volatility where changes occur one at a time. Lead times didn’t worsen uniformly; the fastest-moving businesses averaged 21 days, while the slowest averaged 79 days.
Netstock emphasizes that resilience in this context isn’t about achieving perfection across all inventory metrics. Instead, it’s about prioritizing the most pressing issue and addressing it without neglecting other critical areas. The company’s scorecard evaluates four key measures: excess inventory reduction strategies (93% applicability), service levels above 90% (53%), alternative procurement strategies (34%), and dead stock below 5% (32%).
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While 73% of respondents met two or three of these measures, only 7% achieved all four. Although most SMBs have optimized their inventory management, a third are either understocked or facing challenges in this area. The report highlights that faster inventory movement doesn’t always mean having the right stock available when customers need it.
The increasing unpredictability of supply and demand has led to a rise in dead stock, which climbed from 12% in 2024 to 17% in 2025 and reached 24% this year. This shows how hard it is for businesses to align their inventory with customer needs in a rapidly changing environment.
In this context, SMBs must balance addressing immediate challenges with maintaining a broad view of their supply chain operations. The report suggests that resilience depends on adaptive prioritization and understanding the interconnected pressures shaping supply chains.
