From listening to things such as the Gap earnings call for 2025 and hearing from Lena Phoenix, I believe that global diversification is one of the industries most valuable strategies right now. By diversifying the supply chain, you reduce the risk of geopolitical, economic, or tariff relation tensions from hurting a brand as bad.

• Gap was able to reduce a $300 million tariff hit by preemptively diversifying their supply chain before 2025's "Liberation Day" 

• Xero Shoes in response shifted their operations to Vietnam which helped to open the brand up to a European market.

While this supply chain strategy is not perfect, as relocating to a different country that is still at risk of being hit with geopolitical opposition is a real threat, having a spread out supply chain ensures the whole system can not go down at once. Many brands after "Liberation Day" have been diversifying their supply chains out of China and across Asia or even South America.

For decades, we have been treating suppliers as institutions that we can throw to the side when needed to save ourselves. What we are seeing now is supplier relations being treated more as long term commitments rather than transactional issues. Many brands are sticking up for their suppliers when times are tough by absorbing costs than is common practice, for example Levi's.

• During 2020, Levi's paid for all goods that had already been manufactured and shipped during the pandemic, as well as donating 3 million to garment worker communities.

• Byron from Outdoor Collective shared a similar philosophy, that by having strain suppliers at workable prices instead of truing to squeeze every penny, you will get a better deal in the end.

While having relations with your suppliers can be seen purely for financial reasons, when you help someone, they will help back. That is why I believe this to be an emerging supply chains strategy.

I have found that many brands are seeing how adopting to modern technology can provide strategic benefits that can optimize workflow, increase productivity, and change their whole operations. 

• A case study on H&M's 4 billion in unsold inventory was partially caused by their lack of innovating for the times. They neglected their digital storefront, and misunderstook what customers wanted from the brand. Leading to clothing no one wanted being made. They implemtned AI to predict customer forecasts and changed their supply sysyetm to be more omnichannel.

This is only one example although it shows the dangers of not innovating your infrastructure. Brands have caught on to this, and so have I as I believe this to be a key way brands are keeping their supply chains fresh. 

Using technology with future thinking supply chain models can help to accurately show demand, while also creating a faster process overall in getting said demand to customers.

Sustainability has BEEN a trend for the better part of a decade now, but with the EU tightening their sustainability laws, brands are increasingly incorporating sustainable methods and supply chain ideas into their preexisting structures. From listening to Eileen Fisher's regenerative agriculture conference, I learned how.

• Brands are designing products and supply chains are the full lifecycle of a garment, from regenerative raw soucing to repair, use, and end of life recovery.

Just optimizing a supply chain isen't good enough for consumers any more, they want to see what happens past the point of sale for their items .I believe this to be another core reason why creating a regenerative and circular supply chain is one of the most important strategies being used in the industry right now.

My most talked about idea in my learning journal was the idea of foresight, and particularly by reading articles and information from the 2010's brands just were not thinking about the future. Today, brands have realized that what  used to be relatively peaceful global trade is gone.

• Thinking to 2026's Straight of Hormuz closure, it shows how we became overly dependent on a single system, and didn't have the foresight to make preparations incase said system failed.

It goes back to the first point of globalization, as that is a method we are seeing for how brands adopt foresight into their supply chain design. I believe this event to be an eye opener, that old systems can be changed fast, and we are already seeing brands begin to switch as a result. This may be the most important concept I have learned from my portfolio, is that you should always be prepared,