Small and medium-sized businesses face a growing number of supply chain pressures in 2026, moving beyond last year’s tariff adjustments to a more complex set of challenges, according to a new survey by Netstock, a supply chain planning software provider.
The company surveyed over 150 SMB customers about factors affecting inventory planning this year. Swings in supplier lead times topped the responses at 29%, followed closely by raw material and input costs (23%), freight and shipping costs (23%), and demand shifts (21%).
However, when asked which challenges are most significant, 77% cited supplier lead times, 72% mentioned freight costs, 66% pointed to raw material expenses, and 57% noted demand changes. They concluded that most SMBs are managing multiple pressures simultaneously.
The 2026 supply chain environment is characterized by overlapping variables in motion. The report states this contrasts with previous years’ more isolated volatility. Lead times varied widely, with the fastest-moving businesses averaging 21 days and the slowest reaching 79 days.
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Resilience in this context requires focusing on the most pressing issue rather than optimizing every metric. The company’s inventory scorecard evaluates four key measures. An active strategy for reducing excess inventory (relevant to 93% of respondents) is one. Service levels above 90% (53%), use of at least one alternative procurement strategy (34%), and dead stock below 5% of it (32%) complete the criteria.
While 73% of respondents met two or three of these criteria, only 7% achieved all four. Despite optimization efforts, a third of SMBs remain either understocked or struggling with inventory management.
“Faster inventory movement is becoming more common, but it does not translate into the right stock being available when customers need it,” the report noted. Additionally, the proportion of excess stock classified as dead inventory rose from 12% in 2024 to 17% in 2025, climbing further to 24% this year.
