By: Doug Baker, Vice President, Industry Relations
In today’s grocery retail landscape, success no longer lives in departmental silos. The challenges facing our supply chains - disruptions from tariffs and trade policies, rising transportation costs and tightening margins - can’t be tackled by logistics teams alone. Nor can they be solved in isolation by store operations, merchandising or procurement.
The future of grocery logistics demands cross-functional collaboration from warehouse to shelf, and the 2025 FMI Supply Chain Forum, Sept. 15-17 in St. Louis, is where that future takes shape.
The FMI Supply Chain Forum agenda is a blueprint for what’s next. Sessions like “State of Supply Chain: Economic Realities and Outlook" will examine how inflation, labor trends, regulations and global trade pressures are reshaping grocery operations and supplier relationships. Tackling these issues effectively demands cross-functional collaboration by aligning procurement, logistics, customer insights and financial planning to stay agile and resilient.
Accurate financial planning isn’t just a logistics win, it ensures shelves are stocked with the right products at the right time, boosting shopper satisfaction and reducing lost sales.
Another can’t-miss session, “Strengthening the Fresh Foods Cold Chain: Ensuring Quality, Reducing Waste, and Meeting Consumer Demand”, addresses transportation challenges and emphasizes collaboration across supply, logistics and merchandising functions all while optimizing service levels. And given that 80% of food retailers cited negative supply chain impacts on their business in 2024 (The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2025), it's clear that rethinking transportation as a strategic, not just tactical, function is critical.
Why does breaking down silos matter? Because in 2025, the success of an in-store promotion depends as much on warehouse efficiency as it does on endcap design. Inventory accuracy, once a supply chain issue, now affects shrink, customer satisfaction and profitability. Building resilience requires the entire business to align data, forecasting and execution.
This year’s event is also taking place against a complex economic backdrop. Indeed, about 80% of retailers expect that tariffs and trade will impact pricing and supply chains in 2025 (The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2025). That means the strategies shared at this event won’t just be hypothetical, they’ll be grounded in real-world urgency.
Whether you're in logistics, merchandising, transportation, or store operations, the 2025 FMI Supply Chain Forum is the one event where retailers and suppliers across the value chain come together to future-proof operations, break down functional barriers and respond with agility.
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