What Tech-Enabled Sourcing Really Looks Like in 2025

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Tech-enabled sourcing has become the North Star for fashion brands in 2025, yet the industry still has significant ground to cover. While average supply chain maturity scores increased more than 50% between 2019 and 2023, the industry watermark remains surprisingly low at just 36% . This gap between potential and reality represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

The stakes couldn’t be higher for fashion businesses today. Mature supply chains are demonstrably more than 20% more profitable than their less evolved counterparts . Furthermore, with the fashion industry projected to reach $3.3 trillion by 2030 , brands are racing to implement digital supply chain solutions that deliver both resilience and agility. This urgency is understandable — 80% of organizations have already experienced at least one significant supply chain disruption, with 61% citing material shortages as a top challenge . We’re witnessing a fundamental shift as sourcing transforms from a back-office function to a boardroom priority, requiring sophisticated platforms and streamlined manufacturing processes to meet the demands of both luxury and direct-to-consumer brands.

Why sourcing is no longer just operations

In 2025, procurement has completely transformed from a transactional necessity to a strategic cornerstone. What was once relegated to the background now drives critical business decisions and competitive advantage.

From back office to boardroom: the shift in 2025

Twenty years ago, procurement operated primarily as a tactical, transactional department. However, as one industry expert notes, “Then, boom, strategic sourcing showed up,” marking the beginning of procurement’s evolution into an operational powerhouse [1]. This shift has accelerated dramatically, with 74% of Chief Procurement Officers planning to integrate AI by the end of 2025 [1]. Additionally, the global procurement software market is projected to reach $9.50 billion by 2028 [1].

This transformation reflects a fundamental change in how businesses view sourcing. Rather than simply cutting costs, modern procurement teams are building long-term supplier partnerships, diversifying supply chains, and leveraging advanced analytics to make data-driven decisions [2]. Tech-enabled sourcing has become essential as businesses face persistent supply chain disruptions, rising geopolitical tensions, and fluctuating supplier markets.

Maryadha’s digital supply chain platform exemplifies this shift, providing the real-time data and analytics tools that elevate sourcing from a back-office function to a boardroom priority.

How sourcing impacts brand agility and consumer experience

Today’s consumers expect more than quality products — they demand transparency about how items are made. According to research, 81% of consumers say purchasing ethically sourced products matters to them [3]. Moreover, 83% are willing to pay more for products they can be sure were ethically sourced [3].

Consequently, agile and sustainable sourcing practices directly improve supply chain performance [4]. By implementing tech-enabled sourcing solutions, brands can:

Respond quickly to shifting consumer preferences

Build supply chain resilience against disruptions

Deliver consistent customer experiences through improved visibility

Brands with mature, digitally-enabled sourcing processes demonstrate greater agility — essential in an era where 51% of companies experiencing stock price increases noted having greater control over supplier onboarding [5]. In essence, sourcing has become a critical driver of brand perception and customer loyalty.

Maryadha supports this evolution by providing streamlined manufacturing solutions for DTC and luxury brands alike, enabling the rapid supplier diversification and transparency needed to maintain brand agility in today’s complex market.

The new sourcing playbook: diversification and resilience

The landscape of global sourcing has fundamentally shifted in 2025, with businesses abandoning traditional centralized models in favor of more agile, resilient approaches. This transformation isn’t merely tactical — it’s a strategic imperative for survival in today’s volatile market.

Moving beyond global consolidation

Supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during recent global disruptions have pushed companies to reconsider their once-unquestioned reliance on consolidated suppliers. In fact, studies show that companies with multi-hub sourcing strategies experience 25% fewer supply chain disruptions than those relying on a single region [6]. The conventional wisdom of consolidation for cost efficiency has given way to a new priority: operational resilience. This shift reflects an evolving business practice where strategic sourcing is fundamentally reshaping buyer-supplier relationships [7].

Rise of nearshoring and regional sourcing

Regional sourcing has emerged as a powerful strategy for fashion brands seeking both agility and stability. By sourcing from suppliers within close geographic proximity, companies reduce transportation costs, lead times, and carbon footprints while supporting local economies [7]. This approach delivers tangible benefits including:

Fresher products with better quality control

Lower greenhouse gas emissions

Enhanced product traceability and transparency

Increased supply chain agility and responsiveness [7]

Specifically, nearshoring allows businesses to adjust orders, delivery times, and specifications more easily, enabling rapid responses to market shifts [8].

Multi-sourcing to reduce risk

Given recent unpredictability, procurement leaders are increasingly adopting multi-sourcing strategies. The percentage of supply chain leaders implementing dual sourcing jumped from 55% in 2020 to 81% in 2022 [9]. Through diversifying suppliers across different regions, companies can spread risk effectively — if one supplier experiences disruption, demand can shift to alternatives without disrupting operations [9].

How Maryadha supports diversified sourcing strategies

Maryadha’s tech-enabled sourcing platform was built specifically to address these evolving needs. Their digital supply chain solutions provide fashion brands with the visibility and flexibility needed to implement effective diversification strategies. Through Maryadha’s platform, brands can easily manage relationships with multiple suppliers across different regions, monitor performance metrics in real-time, and quickly pivot when disruptions occur. This technology-driven approach enables both luxury and DTC fashion brands to achieve the perfect balance between cost efficiency, quality control, and supply chain resilience.

Tech-enabled sourcing in action

Fashion brands that have embraced advanced sourcing technologies are seeing measurable advantages in 2025, as intelligent procurement systems drive operational excellence throughout their supply networks.

Smart procurement and automated vendor management

Advanced AI-driven procurement platforms now automate everything from spend analysis to supplier selection and contract management. Organizations that adopt these technologies experience up to 30% reduction in operational costs [10] and a 50% increase in operational efficiency [10]. Simultaneously, vendor management systems (VMS) streamline the entire lifecycle of contingent workers — from sourcing and engaging to managing and invoicing — enabling program managers to handle cost, efficiency, quality, and risk in a single platform [11].

Real-time data for better decision-making

Real-time data has fundamentally altered how supply chain decisions are made. Organizations with greater visibility report median supplier lead times of 21 days compared to 30 days for those with limited visibility [12]. Essentially, this instant access enables businesses to:

Detect and resolve disruptions before they escalate

Dynamically adjust inventory levels and procurement decisions

Monitor supplier performance continuously with automated assessments

Digital supply chain visibility beyond Tier 1

Despite technological advances, a critical gap persists in enterprise visibility. Currently, 85% of disruptions originate beyond Tier 1 suppliers, yet only 15% of Chief Procurement Officers have clear information beyond their immediate suppliers [13]. Notably, businesses with high supply chain visibility achieve 25% faster response to market changes and disruptions [14].

Maryadha’s role in enabling traceability and compliance

As regulatory pressures increase, Maryadha offers fashion brands a sophisticated solution for origin verification and compliance tracking. Unlike fragmented legacy systems, Maryadha’s platform integrates forensic science-backed traceability throughout the supply chain, enabling both luxury and DTC brands to verify material origins with confidence — crucial as authorities increase enforcement of regulations like UFLPA [15]. This science-based approach gives brands the robust, reliable solution needed on their compliance journey.

New business models and future-ready platforms

Beyond traditional approaches, innovative business models are reshaping how fashion brands approach sourcing in 2025. These future-ready platforms represent a fundamental shift in operational thinking.

Supply Chain as a Service (SCaaS)

The global SCaaS market has emerged as a game-changing paradigm, growing from $8.05 billion in 2022 to a projected $13 billion by 2028 [16]. This model divides supply chains into manageable segments that can be outsourced to specialized third parties. For fashion brands, SCaaS delivers exceptional flexibility through variable pricing structures and resource optimization [17]. Above all, this approach allows companies to focus on core competencies while experts handle specialized processes like procurement, warehousing, and order fulfillment.

AI for demand planning and risk mitigation

Artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered demand forecasting, with advanced systems reducing forecast errors by up to 50% [18]. Through analyzing vast datasets — including point-of-sale information, weather patterns, and social media sentiment — AI identifies patterns invisible to human analysts [19]. Increasingly, these platforms enable fashion brands to:

Generate granular, SKU-level forecasts

Simulate different demand scenarios instantly

Predict performance for new products using comparable analogs

Automation in warehousing and logistics

Warehouse automation has shifted from nice-to-have to must-have in 2025 [20]. Robotics and autonomous systems now handle repetitive tasks, enabling continuous operation and greater throughput. Correspondingly, 83% of supply chain leaders plan to adopt these technologies within five years [1]. Solutions like robotic picking ($1,900/month) now match human-level performance while operating 24/7 [1].

How Maryadha powers streamlined manufacturing for DTC brands

Maryadha’s platform specifically addresses the needs of direct-to-consumer brands seeking manufacturing agility. Similar to how Larroudé reduced production time from six weeks to two weeks through vertical integration [21], Maryadha enables rapid response manufacturing that helps brands capitalize on emerging trends. Its future-ready platform provides allied supply chain management that minimizes risk while ensuring every step meets required specifications — enabling DTC brands to achieve the perfect balance between cost efficiency and supply chain resilience.

Conclusion

Tech-enabled sourcing stands at a critical inflection point for fashion brands in 2025. Throughout this exploration, we’ve seen how procurement has evolved from a mere operational function into a strategic cornerstone that drives competitive advantage. Consequently, brands embracing digital supply chain solutions now experience greater profitability, enhanced resilience against disruptions, and improved consumer trust.

The shift toward diversification represents perhaps the most significant change in the sourcing playbook. Rather than consolidating suppliers, forward-thinking brands now spread risk through multi-sourcing strategies and nearshoring. This approach not only protects against disruptions but also allows faster response to market trends, ultimately creating more agile operations.

Real-time data accessibility has fundamentally altered decision-making capabilities across the supply chain. Companies equipped with comprehensive visibility detect problems earlier, adjust inventory dynamically, and monitor supplier performance continuously. Nevertheless, visibility beyond Tier 1 suppliers remains a challenge many brands still struggle to overcome.

As we look toward the future, emerging technologies and business models like Supply Chain as a Service and AI-powered demand planning will further transform how fashion brands approach sourcing. Brands that adopt these innovations early will gain significant advantages in both operational efficiency and market responsiveness.

The path forward requires fashion companies to view sourcing not merely as a cost center but as a strategic differentiator. Those who successfully implement tech-enabled sourcing platforms like Maryadha’s will find themselves better positioned to navigate industry disruptions, meet consumer expectations for transparency, and ultimately deliver superior financial performance in an increasingly complex global marketplace.