Stoicism to lead the Supply Chain in 2026: a personal view

Every January, the same thing happens to me. I look at the calendar, review my goals for the year, and, almost without meaning to, recent conversations with supply chain directors come to mind: ‘2026 is going to be demanding,’ ‘we can’t keep putting out fires,’ ‘the pressure to deliver is brutal,’ ‘technology is advancing, but the organisation doesn’t always keep up or adapt’….

And the interesting thing is that, although the contexts seem to change, the root of the problem remains the same: it’s not just a question of tools, it’s a question of how we lead.

In my day-to-day work as a consulting project manager at Miebach Consulting, I help companies transform their operations and supply chains. I am also fortunate to be able to share my knowledge of supply chains at Nebrija University, where sometimes the questions asked by students—however simple they may seem—force me to go back to basics. This year, between projects, classes, and conversations with management teams, one idea has been on my mind: perhaps to face 2026, we need less ‘noise’ and more ‘foundations.’ Less reaction and more prediction and judgement. And there, surprisingly, I have found it useful to return to an ancient philosophy that is still relevant today:

stoicism.

I am not talking about resignation, I am talking about clarity. Stoicism, applied to our field, is a practical discipline for managing complex environments. And if there is one thing that characterises today’s supply chain, it is complexity in its purest form.

So, the first thing to do is to separate what depends on you from what does not. If I had to choose one stoic principle for a supply chain director in 2026, it would be to distinguish between what is controllable and what is uncontrollable; what depends on us and what does not.

It is clear that we do not control geopolitics, energy prices, blockages on sea routes, or regulations that change from one quarter to the next. Nor can we control a competitor promising impossible deliveries or demand skyrocketing due to a viral effect. What we can control is how our supply network is designed, how reliable our data is, what alternative plans we have, and how our organisation reacts when things go wrong.

I have often seen that the problem is not disruption itself, but rather that it catches us unprepared: without scenarios, without alternatives, without visibility and with fragile processes. And when that happens, everything becomes urgent. Stoicism forces you to look honestly: is my supply chain designed to withstand these risks, or to function ‘just fine’ when everything is going well?

That’s why I think that in 2026, winning will no longer be about running faster, but about making better decisions. As managers, we live in an environment where speed is often rewarded, but the quality of decisions is not always rewarded. And in supply chain, making quick decisions with poor information is like driving fast with a fogged-up windscreen or in foggy conditions.

One of the things I repeat to myself most often, both in projects and in the classroom, is that visibility is not a colourful dashboard. Real visibility is having unique, reliable, connected and useful data for decision-making. And in 2026, with the pressure that seems to be coming, that ability will further separate the companies that lead from those that merely survive.

When we talk about control towers, AI, advanced planning or scenario simulation, we are not talking about buzzwords but about something very specific: reducing uncertainty in decision-making. And that, for a supply chain director, is gold.

Returning to Stoic philosophy, serenity cannot be improvised: it is built through preparation. There is a Stoic exercise that I apply in my personal life and that I find particularly suitable for the world of supply chain: calmly imagining adverse scenarios so that I am prepared when they occur. Because they will occur. If we translate this into our day-to-day logistics, it means working systematically with ‘what-ifs’, with plans B or even C, with capacity analysis, with supplier alternatives, with well-thought-out buffers and with a network that does not break down at the first change.

In the latest transformations that I have seen really work, there is a common pattern: supply chain management decides to invest time (and sometimes budget) in preparing the organisation for the unforeseen. This includes redesigning processes, standardising, training teams, improving data and rehearsing scenarios.

It doesn’t sound glamorous, and it’s not usually celebrated in committee as a great innovation, but when the storm hits, these companies don’t panic: they respond methodically, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief and optimism.

Stoics do not use technology, but we do, although we must not forget that transformation is human. When you share supply chain knowledge, you realise something: ‘students/customers’ want to see technological tools, but what really makes the difference is understanding the system and human behaviour within the system. We can incorporate automation, AI or advanced systems, but if we don’t work on change, if we don’t train, if we don’t align, everything remains a promise. And in 2026, this is going to be critical, because the gap between what technology allows and what the organisation can absorb is going to grow.

A stoic director is not obsessed with ‘implementing things’; they are obsessed with building capabilities. Capabilities in people, processes and operational culture. Because in the end, the supply chain is a team sport. And without a team, no transformation can last.

Being stoic means simplifying, which will be a competitive advantage in 2026. There is another stoic idea that I love: sticking to the essentials, avoiding excess, reducing the unnecessary. When I look at many current supply chains, I see the opposite: accumulated complexity, exceptions everywhere, patched-up processes, historical decisions that no longer make sense, networks that grew without being redesigned, etc.

And complexity is expensive, but above all, it is fragile. In 2026, simplification will be a superpower. For a stoic, simplifying is not ‘cutting back’; it is designing intelligently: fewer manipulations, fewer absurd routes, fewer exceptions, less misplaced inventory, less noise in the data. When an organisation manages to simplify, it suddenly improves service without straining operations, even lowering costs without compromising service quality. What’s more, it reduces its operational footprint and impact. It’s an improvement that doesn’t depend on magic: it depends on judgement.

If I had to sum up my outlook for 2026 in one sentence, it would be this: it is not the fastest who will win, but the best thinkers. And thinking well about the supply chain means deciding with data, designing with an end-to-end system vision, investing in preparation and leading people with consistency.

Stoic philosophy reminds me of something that we managers sometimes forget: the environment will not always be favourable, but our response can be excellent because it depends on us. And that, in supply chain, changes everything.

I hope this article gives you some useful food for thought to start the year:

What part of your supply chain that does not depend on you are you trying to control, and what part that does depend on you are you still not strengthening?

Let’s talk. At Miebach, we can help you.