Supply-chain decision-makers ranked delivery speed ahead of price as a competitive advantage in a six-country Harris Poll survey, while reliable power topped the factors they consider when choosing logistics locations.
The 2027 Prologis Supply Chain Outlook, released Oct. 28, reflects responses from 1,821 executives. Logistics real estate company Prologis commissioned the Harris Poll research.
Faster delivery raises expectations
Speed was selected as the leading competitive differentiator by 39% of respondents, compared with 18% for pricing. The reported share of organizations offering same-day or next-day delivery reached 58%, compared with 24% in 2019 in the historical comparison cited by the report.
But 84% acknowledged a gap between what retailers promise and what warehouses can deliver, and 91% said consumer expectations rise faster than most supply chains can adapt. A similar share called for more decentralized fulfillment networks, while 92% reported investment in last-mile innovation.
Reliable energy affects location and investment plans
Power reliability ranked ahead of transportation access, automation readiness, sustainability requirements and rent in logistics location decisions. Two-thirds of respondents said energy costs significantly affect supply-chain operating costs.
Organizations reported investment in battery storage, demand management, backup generation and renewable-energy agreements. Comprehensive backup systems were reported by 58%, up 12 percentage points from the previous year, while 23% said they had achieved on-site energy independence.
Prologis said demand for power-ready facilities is outpacing supply. In the survey, 95% of respondents said they factor reliable energy infrastructure into lease decisions.
Tariffs and shipping conflicts prompt network changes
Respondents cited rising tariff rates, at 55%, and conflicts affecting shipping corridors, at 53%, as disruptions to production or sourcing. Only 36% reported maintaining their current global footprint, down 15 percentage points from the previous survey.
Companies described several overlapping strategies, including diversifying suppliers, regionalizing, nearshoring and reshoring. Two-thirds said regionalization brings significant local regulatory effects, with emissions standards creating the greatest pressure. Looking toward 2030, 93% expected agility to matter more than scale or cost efficiency as a competitive advantage.
AI investment comes with integration and security obstacles
Two-thirds of respondents said AI adoption was already helping differentiate their organizations competitively. Demand forecasting and agentic execution systems were the technologies most often identified as transformative over the next three years, at 43% and 39%, respectively.
Reported uses included operational efficiency, at 58%, and workforce augmentation and customer experience, each at 49%. Legacy-system integration, at 27%, cybersecurity, at 26%, and upfront costs, at 23%, were the most frequently cited obstacles to scaling those systems.
- Environmental group plans Penn Yan protest, pushes Torrey data center moratorium
- Cornell team wins $10M to build tools for trust and public debate in AI era
- Who pays for AI? Groups warn New York’s data center review leaves too much unanswered
- People want human oversight of health care AI as New York weighs data center growth
Three-quarters planned significant investment in AI forecasting, and 71% planned significant investment in agentic systems. Over the next five years, respondents expected AI to improve logistics speed and throughput, at 49%, disruption response, at 47%, and end-to-end visibility, at 45%. Those are expectations, rather than measured future results.
How the survey was conducted
Harris conducted the online research Aug. 3-20, 2026, among full-time director-level or higher employees who make supply-chain decisions at organizations with at least 250 employees. The sample included 519 U.S. executives and respondents in the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China and Mexico.
The survey was not based on a probability sample, so the report says a theoretical sampling error cannot be calculated. Its historical comparisons also refer to separate survey waves, including a 2025 survey of 1,816 leaders.
The report provides global findings and does not break out New York results.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.