February 12, 2025
When your customers’ trucks pull up to a construction site, they shape the industrial supply chain and move the parts and pieces that build America. You see it every day as a supplier — those steel beams becoming skyscrapers, those HVAC units powering new factories, those electrical components lighting up infrastructure projects.
The problem is, while your teenage kid can track their lunch delivery down to the second, most of your industrial suppliers still think, “Yeah, it’ll be there today” counts as delivery tracking. And in 2025, that’s killing productivity on job sites nationwide.
The market’s speaking loud and clear this year: Something has to give. Your customers are dealing with tight budgets and even tighter deadlines. They can’t have crews standing around waiting for mystery deliveries, and you can’t keep buying new trucks, hoping it fixes everything.
So, what industrial supply chain trends should you be mindful of in 2025 (and beyond)? What should you keep an eye out for and expect? We dig into five things.
The world of job site deliveries has been on a wild ride lately, with the industrial supply chain taking some serious hits from economic jitters and election-year uncertainty. Construction sites and development projects have felt the pinch, with many having to pump the brakes or put things on hold.
But there’s a brightening horizon ahead, according to FRAYT Senior Sales Director Dave Anderson: “I think we’re going to see job site deliveries on an upswing, simply because I think everybody’s feeling a little more comfortable with the economy.” He’s particularly excited about falling housing rates, noting that this gives both homeowners and businesses some breathing room to kick-start those projects they’ve been sitting on.
Here’s the thing, though: While the money side could theoretically look up, the industry is still lagging when it comes to delivery tracking and updates. It’s like ordering a pizza without knowing if it’s in the oven or on its way to your house, except we’re talking about crucial building materials and supplies.
Anderson nails this frustration when he points out: “I don’t think the industry has done a very good job of evangelizing this type of service where they can share tracking, share ETAs, and when your stuff’s gonna get there.” And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a mom-and-pop supplier or a massive distribution company — most still run things like it’s 1995 — at a time when people expect the same kind of tracking they get with their Amazon packages.
Fleet managers have been caught in a tricky game of tug-of-war, with many still clinging to an asset-heavy mindset of “more trucks equals more business.” Their go-to solution for every delivery challenge seems to be adding another vehicle to the fleet without considering the mounting costs of maintenance, fuel, and finding reliable drivers in today’s tight labor market.
Such a traditional approach might have worked when business was more predictable, but in this environment? It’s almost like trying to drive on a four-lane highway with a horse and buggy. Fleet managers are watching their overhead climb while their flexibility to handle rush deliveries or unexpected demands remains stuck in neutral.
A major change in thinking needs to happen as the industry faces a serious reality check about moving beyond traditional asset-heavy fleet operations. Rather than treating every delivery need as a reason to buy another truck, smart managers are discovering the power of hybrid solutions that blend their existing fleet operations with on-demand delivery services. It’s similar to having a reliable backup generator when the power grid gets strained — you don’t need it all the time, but it’s invaluable when demand spikes. By adopting such a mixed approach, companies can keep their core fleet running efficiently on planned routes while using on-demand services like FRAYT to handle same day deliveries, special requests, and peak season overflow.
Imagine a transformation sweeping across the industrial supply chain that mirrors what’s happening in your local beer scene. “I hate to say I’m not a beer guy,” Anderson chuckles, “but look at microbreweries — they’re popping up everywhere because people are getting away from the Busch and Buds and the big beers.” Just as craft brewers discovered that massive centralized breweries weren’t the only path to success, supply chain leaders are realizing that stockpiling “5,000 plumbing fittings available at any time” in every location isn’t the smartest play.
Instead, they’re tapping into the same local-focused philosophy that makes microbreweries work: smaller footprints, closer to customers, with just enough inventory to meet demand. And it’s delivering real results: slashing last mile delivery costs by 50% and enabling retailers to handle double their peak season orders without expanding their physical footprint.
You can see this revolution in action through Anderson’s eyes as he drives past a new kind of Amazon facility in suburban Cincinnati: “It’s probably about a hundred thousand square feet — a whole lot smaller” than their typical warehouses, but far more strategic in its local impact. Industrial suppliers like Ferguson and Johnstone Supply are catching on, realizing they can better serve their markets with nimble inventories of 50 well-chosen items instead of thousands gathering dust — all while “cutting down on gas costs, cutting down on wear and tear on their vehicles, and making it more of a centralized, regional distribution center.”
The industrial supply chain is experiencing a digital divide, with smaller suppliers often left watching from the sidelines as bigger players slowly but surely embrace technology. It’s a tough reality — while some bigger players are beginning to embrace tools like real-time delivery tracking and predictive analytics, many smaller companies are still relying on manual processes, with a striking 68% still handling supplier relationships and inventory control the old-fashioned way.
The numbers add even more context: Construction companies typically invest less than 1% of their revenue in R&D, falling way behind sectors like automotive and aerospace that pour in 3.5-4.5%. And beyond being hesitant to change, many small suppliers face real barriers to adoption like tight budgets, technical obstacles, and outdated systems.
The good news? Smart technology is finally starting to feel less like a luxury and more like a practical tool kit for everyday business needs. Think about your local HVAC contractor — it deals with customer calls, parts inventory, scheduling, and billing all day. But many are starting to embrace platforms like ServiceTitan to make life easier. As Anderson puts it, “ServiceTitan came out so big and fast and all-encompassing — and they’re not the only ones.”
Finally, arguably, the industrial supply chain’s biggest problem is a shortage of skilled workers. Simply put, we don’t have enough people to fix and build things, and Anderson sees this firsthand. He gets straight to the point: “They got rid of shop in schools. You don’t have kids learning how to build things and fix things anymore.” He’s also tired of the myth that college is the only path to success, pointing out that “a trained HVAC tech could make $100,000 a year” while working on systems for people still paying off their student loans.
The numbers back this up: In 2025, half of skilled trade workers say finding qualified people is the biggest industry challenge, and 31% are worried about both older workers retiring and keeping the workers they have. As author David Nour puts it in Forbes, “The skilled worker shortage isn’t just an economic challenge; it’s a cultural one.” And he’s right — with only 6% of U.S. students interested in trade careers, we must rethink how we view these essential jobs.
But companies aren’t just sitting around waiting for things to get better — they’re finding clever ways to work with what they have. The Tile Shop, Motion Industries, and Estes Forwarding Worldwide (EFW) have all teamed up with FRAYT to improve their delivery systems. Instead of confronting the shortage of skilled workers and struggling to find ways to run around and pick up supplies, they’ve set up same day deliveries that they can schedule in minutes. The Tile Shop’s customers can track their deliveries in real time, Motion Industries’ workers can dispatch deliveries with a few clicks, and EFW uses everything from cargo vans to box trucks to get the job done.
Let’s face the facts — in 2025, industrial supply is still a mixed bag. While some companies are making moves, many are stuck in their ways with a “we’ve always done it this way” mindset. We’re seeing warehouses packed with unused inventory, basic deliveries with zero tracking, and companies still thinking more trucks equals better business. But the funny thing is, the companies breaking away from these old habits — moving to regional distribution, adding flexible delivery options, and actually letting customers track their orders — are winning right now. And this is all happening at a time when finding skilled workers is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Here’s the deal: You wouldn’t deliver pizzas on horseback, so why run your delivery operations like you’re stuck in 1995? While some companies are still playing Tetris with their fleets and inventory, others are finding that modern solutions like FRAYT are less like a complicated tech overhaul and more like discovering that perfect multitool — straightforward, powerful, and leaving you wondering how you managed without it. Whether you’re tired of playing “Where’s Waldo?” with your deliveries or need reliable backup during those chaotic moments, FRAYT's platform is your industrial supply chain’s secret weapon.
So, sign up with FRAYT today and see what you’ve been missing — because sometimes, the best way to handle change is with a partner who’s already figured out the hard parts.
