Europe doubles down on digital supply chains
GS1 Connect 2026 and market analysts are flagging an acceleration to end‑to‑end digital supply chains—AI, data quality and traceability are core themes—as the DSCM market and applied retail AI forecasts show robust multi‑year growth. Companies are prioritizing visibility and integrated stacks (ERP/WMS/AI) to manage volatility and product launches. (prnewswire.com) (openpr.com)
GS1 Connect 2026 is set for June 9–11, 2026 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, with organizers listing more than 50 sessions across five tracks and a multi‑day preconference program. (connect.gs1us.org)) Organizers say the event will bring together more than 100 speakers, and participating companies named in the release include Amazon, Carhartt, Hanes, Mars, Nestlé, Unilever, Walmart and the U.S. FDA. (prnewswire.com)) The Digital Supply Chain & Logistics Tech market is forecast by ResearchAndMarkets to expand from about $72 billion in 2025 to $146.92 billion by 2031, implying roughly a 12.6% CAGR over that period. (researchandmarkets.com)) Complementary DSC forecasts show the broader Digital Supply Chain market valued at $6.8 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $16.5 billion by 2032 (an ~11.8% CAGR), underscoring multi‑year vendor opportunity for orchestration and analytics platforms. (verifiedmarketresearch.com)) Market reports and the GS1 agenda point to the same vendor ecosystem pushing integration—SAP, Oracle, Blue Yonder, Kinaxis, Manhattan Associates and logistics players such as DHL appear on analyst leader lists driving ERP/WMS/AI stack interoperability. (researchandmarkets.com)) GS1 is positioning its standards as the technical backbone for Europe’s Digital Product Passport under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, publishing a provisional DPP standard to help firms prepare for mandated product‑level data exchange. (gs1.org)) The EU’s sectoral rollout begins with a battery passport tied to Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, with compliance obligations kicking in from February 18, 2027, creating a concrete first compliance horizon for manufacturers and importers. (hoganlovells.com)) Session titles on the GS1 agenda—examples include “Precision Traceability With AI,” “Linking GS1 Identification to Products,” and practical tracks on FSMA Rule 204 and data quality—signal a move from proof‑of‑concept AI to embedding identifiers and traceability into operational stacks and compliance roadmaps. (connect.gs1us.org))
