RapidRatings Survey Finds Enterprises and Suppliers Face the Same Risks, but Interpret Them Differently

Two-thirds of enterprises see high supply chain risk in 2026, while suppliers are more likely to view the same environment as moderately risky, according to RapidRatings, the leading provider of finan...

2026 Annual Risk Survey Highlights Opportunities to Align Enterprise and Supplier Risk Strategies

NEW YORK: Two-thirds of enterprises see high supply chain risk in 2026, while suppliers are more likely to view the same environment as moderately risky, according to RapidRatings, the leading provider of financial analytics. The company today released its 2026 Annual Risk Survey, examining how supply chain risk professionals and suppliers experienced disruption in 2025 and what they've done to prepare for 2026.

Conducted in late 2025, the survey gathered insights from over 200 global suppliers and procurement and risk management professionals across various industries and Fortune 500 enterprises. Respondents represented North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM.

Same Environment, Different Perspectives

Enterprises and suppliers are operating in the same risk environment, marked by rising costs (85% of respondents experienced them in 2025), tariffs, volatility, and ongoing disruption. However, their interpretations of risk severity diverge based on their vantage point.

Enterprises (66% note high or very high risk): Viewing exposure across thousands of suppliers, enterprises are focused on aggregate risk and the potential for cascading failures.
Suppliers (42% note moderate risk): Managing disruption day to day, many suppliers have adapted to volatility as a new normal and feel a greater sense of control over their own operations.

"This isn't misalignment," said Charlie Minutella, RapidRatings CEO. "It's a perception gap, where two groups are looking at the same supply chain and seeing different things. Enterprises see systemic risk rippling across their network. Suppliers see operational challenges they can manage in-house. Both are right from where they stand. The question is, how do you get them looking at the same picture?"

Disruption Hit Harder for Enterprises Compared to Suppliers

Enterprises experienced disruption at nearly twice the rate of suppliers. 82% of enterprises reported a material supplier disruption in the past 12 months, compared with just 42% of suppliers reporting material impact.

“Enterprises tend to have a more stringent definition of disruption, while suppliers may have more tolerance for absorbing delays, extra costs, or products not meeting specifications,” said Minutella. “That mismatch can create friction, reduce transparency, and ultimately drive sourcing changes when expectations are not aligned.”

Learnings from 2025

The findings also reveal how expectations for 2025 compared with reality, offering insight into how risk forecasting is evolving across supply chains.

Key Findings:

Risk remains elevated and is rising: 66% of supply chain professionals rate the supply environment high/very high risk in 2025 (up from 62% in 2024).
2025 prediction vs reality: Tariffs moved from the second-highest expected risk for 2025 to the top actual impact. Economic instability, initially ranked third, materialized as inflation and cost volatility, pushing it up to the second-highest impact.
Supplier distress creates buyer disruption: In 2025, supply chain disruption was double that of suppliers. 35% of suppliers reported disruption versus 66% of buyers, showing the same risks play out very differently once they cross into buyer operations.
Industry impact varied: Technology saw the highest rate of prolonged disruption at 37.5% (2.5x the overall average), while 100% of healthcare respondents rate the emerging environment as high risk.
Labor shortages signal future pressures: Suppliers rank labor shortages third while procurement ranks it seventh, potentially signaling quality and delivery issues as pressure on suppliers increases.
Working capital initiatives present opportunity to reduce risk: Integrating supplier financial health into payment terms initiatives has the capacity to simultaneously address cashflow issues and supplier insolvency issues, two of the leading concerns for 2026. Despite this, only 15% of enterprises have fully integrated supplier financial health into payment-terms decisions-and 30% aren't using it at all.

As tariffs, inflation, and supplier distress continue to shape 2026, the organizations that bridge the perception gap will be better positioned to build more resilient supply chains. Access RapidRatings' Annual Risk Survey 2026 Whitepaper for the entire survey results and strategies for mitigating disruption in the year ahead.

ABOUT RAPIDRATINGS

RapidRatings sets the standard for financial health transparency between business partners, transforming the way leading companies manage financial risk. The company delivers the most sophisticated analysis of the financial health of both public and private companies, with over 500,000 ratings conducted across 150 countries sourced directly from private company financial statements. Through RapidRatings, businesses can build more meaningful relationships and gain visibility into the financial stability of global suppliers, vendors, and other third parties. Learn more at www.rapidratings.com.

Fonte: Business Wire