48% of UK businesses flag supply chain risk

By Tom Whitfield

Office for National Statistics data show that 48% of UK businesses are concerned about at least one factor affecting their supply chains over the next 12 months. International conflict was a concern for 32%, while 21% cited shipping disruption.

Welsh freight forwarder Delsol International is urging UK retailers to prepare for international shipping disruption, trade tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty before Black Friday and Christmas. Businesses sourcing overseas face increasing complexity, while retailers prepare for the 2026 peak season and begin planning for 2027. Rules-of-origin requirements and volatile shipping routes add pressure to international logistics operations.

The warning applies to cross-border freight bought by UK businesses, not a single named trade lane. Delsol cited no rate or capacity change; its case rests on exposure to conflict, tariffs, rules of origin and route volatility.

What does diversification change for retailers?

Dylan Walker, Delsol International's business development manager, said independent UK businesses are finding the current supply-chain environment increasingly difficult to navigate. He said retailers should consider diversifying international sourcing rather than rely on one country, reducing exposure to geopolitical developments and shipping-route diversions.

Walker said:

“Many organisations are still underprepared for the challenge of getting goods across borders and to their destinations.

“Businesses which primarily manage these challenges on a reactive basis are putting themselves at risk.

“For businesses who want to source internationally and thrive, a proactive approach is now vital in the current geopolitical context, where instability and uncertainty are daily realities.”

• Spread concentration risk: Sourcing from more than one country can reduce dependence on geopolitical disruption in a single market and on the diversion of one international shipping route.
• Accept more complexity: Multiple origins bring different rules-of-origin requirements and supply-chain conditions. Retailers must manage several international chains and work with forwarders able to respond when requirements change.

The recommendation does not remove risk. Diversification lowers concentration but increases coordination work. For retailers and other shippers buying overseas, the practical step is to identify which orders depend on one country or route, then prepare alternative sourcing and logistics arrangements before peak-season deadlines expose gaps in the plan.

Walker's diagnosis fits the ONS figures: conflict worries more businesses than shipping disruption, although both can affect the same cross-border shipment. A route diversion can add uncertainty over how and when goods reach their destination; a tariff change can alter the economics of sourcing even when the product itself remains available.

Three risks sit at different points in the chain. Tariffs influence sourcing decisions, rules of origin add compliance work, and route volatility affects delivery after an order has been placed. That separation makes diversification more than a supplier-list change; it requires logistics planning that can handle the alternative.

A retailer dependent on one origin has fewer options when geopolitical conditions affect that market or a route serving it changes. A multi-country buying plan creates more sourcing choices, while forcing teams to handle different rules of origin, supplier schedules and freight movements. The forwarder therefore becomes a planning function, not simply a transport provider.

For forwarders, Delsol is pointing to a clear service requirement: manage different international supply chains and adjust to changing buyer requirements. For retailers, the commercial objective is to protect product availability and planning visibility while tighter margins limit the room to absorb disruption and additional logistics work.

Delsol said it understood those pressures particularly for independent businesses, as tighter margins and disruption to international trade flows made supply-chain planning increasingly important. Advance preparation matters because independent retailers face tighter margins while also managing changes in international trade flows.

Delsol will exhibit at the White & Private Label Expo at ExCeL London on 11 and 12 November. There, the company plans to advise delegates on managing international sourcing and logistics challenges.

The company has a direct stake in that advice. Delsol International became a separate business in 2024 after previously operating within Delivery Solutions (Delsol), responding to growing demand for international logistics services. It provides freight-forwarding services to businesses sourcing goods internationally.

As retailers plan for 2027, tariff exposure, shifting trade routes and geopolitical uncertainty will remain the practical tests for maintaining product availability without allowing logistics complexity to erode tighter margins.