Seventy-two percent of supply chain leaders said they have had to revisit final approvals for network investment decisions at least once, contributing to delays, according to research from business and technology insights firm Gartner, Inc., released today. More than half said they revisited those decisions three or more times, leading to lower satisfaction in the final outcome.
Network investments refer to supply chain network design investments that change the structure or capabilities of a company’s supply chain to support business objectives, according to Gartner. Those may include adding, closing, or repurposing facilities; addressing labor and freight costs; adding supplier sites; or expanding capacity.
“Most organizations plan for major disruptions, but it’s the day-to-day instability, or what we call turbulence, that steadily drives up costs, decreases service levels, and forces leaders to regret their decisions,” Vicky Forman, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a statement Tuesday. “The more successful investment outcomes incorporate the costs associated with chronic turbulence into the business case calculations from the start.”
Gartner surveyed 151 supply chain leaders between November 11 and December 21, 2025. Respondents had recently made a significant network investment decision and represented companies with annual revenue of at least $250 million across manufacturing, life sciences, retail, and technology sectors, spanning executive and senior operational roles.
Gartner distinguishes between two types of supply chain operating challenges. Turbulence refers to ongoing, expected instability such as fluctuating demand, labor variability, and cost swings that slow or complicate the flow of goods. Disruption, by contrast, is a major unexpected event. While large disruptions draw attention, Gartner said it found that day-to-day instability erodes margins and more consistently drives up costs in areas such as expedited shipping, extra inventory, and overtime labor. (See Figure 1)
To cut through the complexity of network investments and improve confidence in executive decision making, Gartner said chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) should add three specific types of adaptability into their business cases, representing a “new math” for network investments. This includes assessing the costs of:
- Operational adaptability: The quantifiable cost of absorbing ongoing supply chain friction, such as premium freight, excess buffer stock, and overtime labor and changeover costs required to handle erratic schedules.
- Network adaptability: The fixed or semifixed costs associated with structurally diversifying the network to reduce risk exposure, like the expense of qualifying and maintaining multiple supplier sites.
- Capital adaptability: The time and money required to pivot the supply chain infrastructure in the future to respond to high-impact disruptions and changing operating environments.
Traditionally, supply chain leaders focused on the one-time and ongoing costs of a network investment, without explicitly incorporating the variable costs associated with managing chronic turbulence, according to the research.
To improve decision outcomes in this environment, Gartner identified two approaches for supply chain leaders:
- Quantify the hidden cost of supply chain turbulence using the new math: Move beyond static models by explicitly measuring the financial impact of ongoing volatility and friction.
- Consider the half-life of your network strategy: CSCOs should be prepared to reverse, stop, or repurpose investments. Define the longevity of network designs and when to pivot or terminate a project.
“Revisiting a decision in itself shouldn’t be seen as a failure,” Forman said. “In a volatile environment, the ability to stop, reverse, and repurpose an investment can prevent larger losses. Organizations that treat network decisions as adaptable, rather than fixed, are better equipped to protect margins and respond to change.”
