Executive summary Global supply chains stand at a historic inflection point. After decades defined by scale, cost optimization and globalization, a new era has emerged – shaped by fragmentation, systemic constraints and continuous disruption. The world has shifted from predictable integration to structural volatility. The assumptions that once made supply chains efficient – institutional stability, network predictability and open trade – have become sources of fragility. Rising geopolitical tensions, national industrial policies and uneven growth demand a profound re-architecting of how industries design their production networks and how governments shape enabling ecosystems. The “Global Value Chains Outlook 2026” builds on a multi-year collaboration between the World Economic Forum and Kearney and draws insights from more than 100 consultations with industry, government and academic leaders, survey data from over 300 global executives and real-world case examples. It offers a dual playbook to navigate this new operating environment: –For the private sector: A strategic guide to orchestrate operations with foresight, agility and trust to turn uncertainty into advantage. –For the public sector: A policy blueprint to build the enabling environment where adaptive, future-ready industries can thrive. Five interlocking structural forces are redefining the outlook for global supply chains. Slowing and uneven growth, driven by inflation, tighter capital and widening divergence, is forcing companies to redesign networks around constrained supply, energy and localized demand. Amid rising fragmentation and technological change, business and government must jointly build resilient and agile supply chains. Global Value Chains Outlook 2026: Orchestrating Corporate and National Agility 4