UK Supply Report: Headline findings and recommendations

CSG recently published the UK Supply Report 2026. Headline findings and recommendations from the report are as follows. 

You can read the full report here.

Headline findings:

UK companies are underutilised, indicating opportunities to strengthen domestic supply and sovereign capability

More than 7 in 10 companies already supplying a critical sector say they could supply at least one more, with defence, civil nuclear and space the most cited sectors.

Energy is the largest shared infrastructure dependency

40% name energy as the CNI sector they most depend on to operate, ahead of transport (29%) and communications (19%).

Resilience action is concentrated in two approaches

50% are diversifying and contingency planning, and 49% are forming strategic partnerships. 15% are onshoring or near-shoring of production, services or hosting.

SMEs report the greatest visibility, engagement and resilience gaps

SMEs are more likely to report poor visibility of opportunities to supply critical sectors, limited buyer engagement and no formal source of resilience information. They are also less likely to have documented their critical inputs.

Procurement processes are the biggest barriers for UK companies supplying critical sectors

67% cite procurement and tendering complexity, and 64% limited visibility of opportunities, as the two largest barriers to supplying more into critical sectors.

Access to critical inputs is stable for most, but becoming more constrained

Where access to critical inputs has changed, it has tightened rather than eased by nearly four to one. 33% have documented the critical inputs they depend on.

Government is the most-used source of resilience information, but many are not engaged

49% turn to GOV.UK to inform resilience decisions, more than twice any other source, however 34% report having no clear point of reference.

Europe is the UK’s most trusted supply partner

77% consider Europe as offering the most secure and reliable supply, ahead of the United States (34%) and China and Hong Kong (22%).

Headline recommendations for government, public operators, strategic suppliers, tier 1 contractors and other major buyers in the UK:

1. Clearer governance, coordination and strategic direction:

Cross-government Ministerial ownership

Establish clear Ministerial accountability, led by the Department for Business & Trade and Cabinet Office as key cross-government departments for UK supply chains and national resilience and readiness, including structured and recurring public–private engagement aligned to national resilience priorities. Convening platforms such as the Critical Supply Group can support this coordination.

2. Further leverage procurement reform to reward resilience and capability

Strategic procurement

Embed supply chain resilience, domestic capability and long-term supply security as recognised value criteria within public procurement decisions, aligned to the National Security Strategy and UK Government Resilience Action Plan. Also, including clearer resilience criteria and reporting expectations for major contractors and CNI operators.

3. Connect more UK capability to commercial opportunity

Forward procurement visibility

Standardise and improve publication of forward procurement pipelines across critical sectors to increase predictability, enable earlier supplier engagement and support investment planning.

Deepening existing supply

Establish sector-led supplier development programmes, supported by relevant government departments, sector regulators and business representative organisations, to enable UK companies already supplying critical sectors to scale their participation through targeted procurement pipelines, capability mapping and structured buyer engagement. Also support within delivery attached to the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy and Plan for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses.

4. Enable resilient companies and secure critical inputs

SME risk mitigation

Recognise that while SMEs are essential to resilient supply chains, smaller firms may face proportionately higher exposure to operational and financial shocks. Develop proportionate risk-sharing and support mechanisms - including phased contracting, framework access, and resilience-linked insurance and incentives - to enable SME participation without transferring excessive risk.

Access to critical inputs

Support or incentivise companies to identify and secure their most critical inputs, such as through supply chain diagnostics, critical input assessments, access to new suppliers, collaborative procurement and delivery of relevant government strategies, aligned to the UK Government’s Supply Chain Centre’s work.

5. Building a shared evidence and intelligence base

Import dependency analysis

Continue to improve understanding and prioritisation of the UK’s import dependencies, including origin, concentration and substitution options, to inform strategic procurement, trade policy and resilience planning.

Data and AI

Accelerate the use of shared data, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to strengthen supply chain mapping, supplier identification, vulnerability assessment and predictive resilience. The Critical Supply Group is available to contribute complementary business insight and data, alongside system-level analysis such as via the Supply Chain Centre, the Government Office for Science and other relevant initiatives.

Recommendations for SME suppliers:

The survey findings also point to practical actions SMEs supplying critical sectors can take directly, including:

Use available government guidance and tools

Make use of the resilience, preparedness, economic security and supply chain guidance available through GOV.UK and associated government functions.

Undertake a supply chain diagnostic

Identify and assess the most critical inputs and the points at which they are most exposed, as a basis for prioritising action. Practical guidance and diagnostic resources are available through the Critical Supply Group.

Make use of business representative organisations

Draw on, and ask more of, the business representative organisations, such as trade associations and Chambers of Commerce, on supplier visibility, buyer engagement and resilience support.

Recommendation for all:

Do not wait for a crisis

Action is typically more effective and less costly before disruption than during it. The risks to critical supply chains are clear, and the case for acting early is stronger than the case for waiting.

These headline recommendations are intended to highlight the principal actions emerging from the survey. A fuller set of recommendations, is provided in the report.

For collaboration opportunities or enquiries relating to the UK Supply Survey, the Critical Supply Group or related initiatives, please contact info@mapukinternational.com.