The fashion industry continues to navigate a volatile landscape, where supply chain complexity, cost pressures, and shifting consumer expectations remain dominant concerns. As brands and retailers navigate economic shifts, sustainability, efficiency, and collaboration remain essential, but challenges like cost control, regulatory complexity, and the limitations of legacy tools continue to impact sourcing teams worldwide.
To better understand the industry’s shifting landscape, The Interline, in partnership with Bamboo Rose, conducted its second survey of 100 sourcing, supply chain, and product development professionals across major global markets. The findings reveal a year-over-year movement toward AI-driven decision-making, deeper technology adoption, and a stronger push for integration-indicating that more businesses are recognising the need for smarter, faster, and more resilient supply chains, even if full-scale transformation is still unfolding.
Key Findings from the 2025 Survey
- Sourcing Strategies are Shifting – Offshoring increased by 16% becoming the primary sourcing strategy, while nearshoring dropped from 30% to 10%-a shift likely driven by economic pressures and global supply chain conditions.
- Tech Adoption is Accelerating – More brands are moving away from Excel and Smartsheets, with an 11% decrease in the use of generic industry-agnostic tools. Purpose-built PLM and supply chain management platforms are gaining traction.
- AI Investments Are on the Rise – AI has moved up the rankings as priority investment, with brands increasingly leveraging AI-driven analytics to improve risk management, forecasting, and operational visibility.
- Visibility is Improving, but Gaps Remain – The percentage of brands reporting “good” supplier visibility rose by 20%, while those experiencing a lack of visibility dropped by 29% to 17% – signalling industry wide improvements but also room for growth.
- Risk Management is Still Mostly Manual – 51% of brands still rely on hybrid or reactive approaches to disruptions, highlighting a continued need for predictive risk management and supply chain resilience.
These key insights offer just a glimpse into the comprehensive analysis and essential data found in the full report, providing fashion companies valuable industry intelligence.
Inside, sourcing and supply chain professionals will find in-depth insights on key developments, including:
- 2025’s Strategic Priorities – What sourcing professionals are focusing on in the year ahead.
- Tech Investment Trends – How spending on AI, PLM, and supply chain tools is evolving.
- PLM & AI Integration – How fashion brands are rethinking efficiency and collaboration through new technologies.
- Risk & Disruption Management – How businesses are tackling supply chain volatility and compliance challenges.
- The Future of Sourcing and Supply Chains – Expert predictions for 2025 and beyond.
About our partner: Bamboo Rose is a leading product development and supply chain platform empowering retail results through collaboration and efficiency. By accelerating data-driven decisions, streamlining operations, and promoting sustainability, we support our customers to thrive in the competitive landscape. Our mission is simple: enable retailers to increase revenue, reduce costs, and mitigate risk.
