Disruption is Now a Structural Condition

As procurement leaders continue to address supply chain instability due to several factors, including geopolitical issues, shifting trade routes, and cost volatility, a new report 2026 Freight Report from Xeneta, an ocean and air freight solutions company, concludes that these conditions are no longer exceptions — they are structural conditions shaping procurement performance.

"What has changed is not just the frequency of disruption,
but the financial exposure tied to it," said Patrik Berglund, CEO, Xeneta, 

The survey, based on insights from 450 procurement and supply chain leaders, reported the following key findings:

7 in 10 organizations faced significant disruption in the past year. with 24% citing geopolitical instability as a major driver

83–89% say their strategies are effective — yet disruption-related spend is up 11% year-over-year

44% cite a shortage of digital skills as a key barrier

62% are actively looking to modernize procurement

Respondents were asked which of the following negative impacts their organization experienced when facing disruption to its procurement in the last 12 months.

Missed opportunities due to lack of market or capacity visibility --34%

Increased budget buffers or contingency spend to offset unpredictability  --24%

Damage to supplier, carrier, or customer relationships   --34%

Forced into last-minute model shifts (e.g., ocean to air) at inflated costs –33%

Stockouts, production delays, or missed customer delivery deadlines –32%

Poor timing of tenders, rate reviews, or logistics planning –26%

Overpaying for freight compared to market—26%

Negative impact on sustainability goals –26%

No tangible impacts due to disruption—4%

 Moves to Make Before Your Next Negotiation

The  report offers four recommendations for procurement teams looking to turn the research findings into action:

1. Establish a market baseline before the next tender. Internal data tells you what you paid. External benchmarks tell you whether what you paid was right. Without that context, you're negotiating without a reference point.
2. Move from annual to continuous procurement. Spot market exposure and surcharge volatility mean the market moves faster than a once-a-year tender cycle can capture. Building a rhythm of regular market monitoring — watching contracted rates, spot rates, and surcharge movements in parallel — gives teams the agility to adjust mid-cycle rather than absorb the cost at year-end.
3. Align procurement and finance on a single view. When teams are working from different data sets, decisions slow down and costs get attributed inconsistently. A shared view of rates, performance, and cost creates the common language needed to respond to disruption quickly — and to justify decisions to leadership.
4. Build carrier scorecards that go beyond price. How a carrier behaves under pressure — communication quality, pricing transparency during disruption, reliability when capacity is tight — matters as much as their standard rates. That behaviour should inform future sourcing decisions, not just the contract terms at signing.