More Than Ever, Companies and Consumers Put Their Trust in Supply Chains

In these turbulent times, there is a pervasive mistrust of economic performance, institutions, and sources of information—a lack of faith that colors consumers’ buying decisions, elevating the importance of a brand’s trustworthiness.

Every part of an enterprise has a hand in fostering and sustaining trust in its brand. Still, while slogans and other marketing programs are viewed with suspicion, the most critical trust-building function is often the supply chain.

Crises of faith

Communications company Edelman has been publishing its annual global Trust Barometer for 25 years. The 2025 edition, based on online interviews with 33,000 respondents from 28 countries, makes for sober reading. Edelman states, “economic fears have metastasized into grievance, with six in 10 respondents reporting moderate to high sense of grievance.” It defines consumer grievance as “a belief that government and business harm them and serve narrow interests.”

A lack of hope that things will get better and class-based societal divisions—trust in institutions is much lower in low-income respondents—are two factors feeding these grievances, concludes Edelman. The two other factors are “a global unprecedented lack of faith in institutional leaders” and perceptions that information sources are not credible. Sixty-three percent of respondents maintained that “it’s becoming harder to tell if news was produced by a respectable source or from attempted deception.”

Recent developments suggest that widespread mistrust will not decline any time soon. The economic outlook is highly uncertain, and people are anxious about globally disruptive forces, such as the societal impact of AI and climate change. It seems like trustworthiness is becoming a rare commodity in e-commerce, where consumers must navigate various risks, including online scammers and dishonest product reviews. Meta’s announcement that it will cease using third-party fact-checkers on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram does not build confidence in the credibility of online information. 

Business implications

Like it or not, businesses are on the front line of the battle against declining trust levels.

For example, Edelman says that over the past several years, its Barometer shows that businesses outperform the government on competence and ethics. In other words, businesses are trusted more than the government, the media, and elite universities. However, the firm cautions that enterprises face new guardrails if they become involved in addressing societal issues.

Consider, for instance, Target’s rollback of DEI initiatives that sparked a protest involving a 40-day boycott of the retailer. Or the impact of Elon Musk’s political exploits on the Tesla brand. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Musk’s agenda, he is Tesla’s CEO, and the automaker’s share value and sales have dropped precipitously.

When consumers’ faith in a brand takes a hit, its market fortunes will likely go the same way. Hence, reputational risk has increased in the current climate—but so has the opportunity to capitalize on consumers’ disenchantment. “The pervasive online distrust, however, will likely make tried-and-tested household names more valuable,” the Wall Street Journal says in a recent article. Brands that represent authenticity and reliability win out. The same can be said for companies in the offline world.

Undervalued role?

A company’s supply chain is at the heart of its efforts to secure and maintain the trust of its customers.

The function maintains a brand’s integrity by consistently delivering undamaged quality products at the right place, price, and time. The function enables a company to keep or even exceed its service promises. If an enterprise’s reputation is damaged for some reason, like being involved in a social issue controversy or a product recall, its supply chain is central to rebuilding its standing in the market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when empty supermarket shelves were in the spotlight, we witnessed how supply chain failures can quickly erode public trust.

This trust-engendering role will gain importance in the face of continuously increasing trade tensions, shifting political alliances, and widening fractures between elite governments and large parts of society. Additionally, threats such as adverse weather, environmental degradation, economic inequality, and consumer distrust will continue to erode consumer confidence.  

Understandably, conversations around supply chain performance tend to focus on headline issues such as automation and geopolitical risk. However, let’s not overlook a supply chain’s vital role as a commercial trust agent.