15th Supply Chain Leaders Forum 2026

HOME ALONE – NEW NORMAL IN SUPPLY CHAINS

For more than two decades, global supply chains were built on a simple promise: openness, interdependence, and the free flow of goods across borders. We designed value streams based on value sharing — in the belief that together we could grow the pie faster than any of us could independently. That promise is now under siege.

Tariff wars are redrawing trade maps overnight. Critical commodities are being weaponised as instruments of geopolitical leverage. Trusted partnerships that took years to build are being dismantled by executive orders and retaliatory policies. Mounting tensions in the Strait of Hormuz are adding new fragility to global energy flows. From semiconductors to rare earth minerals, from energy supplies to pharmaceutical ingredients, nations and companies alike are waking up to an uncomfortable truth: when the world turns hostile, you may find yourself home alone.

The metaphor is deliberate, and uncomfortably apt. Like the iconic child left behind, European supply chains now face a reality where the safety nets of global cooperation can no longer be taken for granted. The question is no longer if disruptions will come, but whether we are resourceful enough to defend the house when they do.

A new era of supply chain self-reliance

The current landscape presents challenges that are fundamentally different from those of even five years ago. We are no longer dealing with isolated disruptions — a pandemic here, a canal blockage there — but with systemic, deliberate, and politically motivated shifts in the architecture of global trade. And the cost is real: regionalisation and nationalism are reducing the global value creation that open interdependence once made possible.

• Tariffs as policy tools: the escalation of trade barriers is forcing companies to rethink sourcing strategies, manufacturing footprints, distribution structures, and cost bases at an unprecedented pace.
• Supply chains as weapons: nations are increasingly restricting access to critical materials and technologies, turning supply chain dependencies into strategic vulnerabilities.
• The push for European sovereignty: from the European Chips Act to critical raw materials legislation, policymakers are signalling that Europe must reduce its dependence on external suppliers. But at what cost, and with what realistic timeline?
• Reshoring, nearshoring, friend-shoring: these are no longer boardroom buzzwords but operational imperatives. Yet the practical challenges of rebuilding domestic and regional supply capabilities remain enormous.
• The resilience-efficiency tension: for decades, supply chain excellence meant lean, just-in-time, and globally optimised. The new reality demands buffers, redundancies, and regional alternatives — a fundamental rethinking of what "good" looks like.

What does "Home Alone" mean for supply chain leaders?

This year's Supply Chain Leaders Forum tackles the hard questions that practitioners, researchers, and policymakers are grappling with right now:

• Can Europe realistically become self-sufficient in critical supply chains, and should it even try?
• How do companies manage a world where trade policy can shift overnight, invalidating years of supply chain design?
• What does resilience look like when the disruptions are not random shocks but deliberate acts of economic coercion?
• How do we balance the enormous costs of supply chain restructuring against the risks of continued dependence?
• What role can technology, collaboration, and new business models play in building supply chains that can truly stand on their own?

The event takes place at:

Copenhagen Business School,
Porcelænshaven 20, Ovnhallen
2000 Frederiksberg
Denmark

Thursday, 17 September 2026, 12:30-17:30

Extended networking reception between 17:30-18:30. 

This year, we have a participant limitation of 250 attendees. Therefore, secure your place early to avoid disappointment.
Participation is free but requires registration. 

Please read more and register at SCLF 2026 | The Event 

Registration:

Please note that registration takes place directly via CBS' website. After the event IDA Supply Chain will get the participant list for statistics.

Important information regarding personal data on participant lists: Your name, title and company name will appear on the participant list for this event if you have previously given consent or have given consent in connection with registration to this event. The participant list is available to the organizers, sponsors and the other participants at the event itself in the form of an online participant list. At some events, a name tag is also given out, where your name, title and company name appear. If you unsubscribe from the event, your information will no longer appear on the participant list from IDA. 

You can read more about consent here, https://profil.ida.dk/en/samtykker.