Monthly Roundup - Inditex’s Emissions Spike, SAP vs. Celonis Lawsuit, and Rossmann’s Logistics Expansion

In 2025, the manufacturing and supply chain sectors are under continued pressure from global uncertainty. Economic instability, rising tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and climate-related risks are pushing supplier quality, resource constraints, and reliability to the forefront of industry concerns. Despite a slight decline from last year, 77% of leaders still cite workforce shortages and limited budgets as critical challenges, reflecting persistent structural strain.

Economic headwinds are being factored into long-term strategy by a growing number of companies, up from 47% in 2024 to 53% this year. Trade policy shifts under the current U.S. Administration have added new unpredictability, while rising labor costs and intensifying competition continue to impact operational speed and profitability. Supplier quality and lack of visibility remain key obstacles, with many struggling to maintain standards and respond effectively to disruptions.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is maturing across the industry. Over 87% of companies report medium to high AI maturity, with 94% already using AI in operations like logistics, quality control, and inventory management. AI has moved beyond hype, becoming a foundation for streamlining production and improving sourcing decisions. While current tools enhance efficiency, the next frontier lies in predictive capabilities that could foresee failures and delays before they happen.

Despite the challenges, optimism is growing. Companies that invest in AI, automation, and digital manufacturing are gaining a critical edge. In a landscape shaped by disruption, adaptability and innovation are emerging as the true differentiators.

Inditex's transport emissions increased by 10% in 2024 to 2.61 million tonnes of CO2, largely due to greater reliance on air freight as disruptions in the Red Sea forced longer shipping routes around Africa. While overall emissions remained stable, this rise in transport emissions underscores the challenges of maintaining fast-fashion logistics while reducing environmental impact. The company’s Scope 3 emissions, which include supply chain, shipping, and business travel, slightly exceeded 2018 levels, hindering progress toward its goal of a 51% reduction by 2030 and 90% by 2040. Despite these setbacks, Inditex made progress in sustainability by increasing its use of recycled materials, with 33% of fibers coming from post-consumer waste, up from 18% in 2023. Additionally, emissions from purchased goods and services—the company’s largest emissions category—declined by 6% due to a shift toward lower-impact textiles. However, transport emissions grew at twice the rate of product volume growth, indicating a widening gap between business expansion and sustainability efforts.

Celonis, a German process mining software company, is suing SAP in a U.S. federal court, accusing it of anti-competitive behavior and restricting access to customer data. Celonis claims SAP is using its dominance in the ERP market to unfairly promote its own process mining tool, Signavio—acquired in 2021—while making it harder and more expensive for third-party providers like Celonis to access critical data. The lawsuit alleges SAP is imposing new fees, technical barriers, and policy changes to lock in customers and exclude rivals. Celonis argues this not only harms competition but also limits customers' ability to choose the best tools for analyzing their business processes. The case highlights growing concerns among large companies like BMW about the importance of openness in enterprise software ecosystems.

Rossmann is investing in the expansion and modernization of its logistics infrastructure in Poland to support future growth. The company has commissioned Körber to upgrade the distribution center in Pyskowice, Silesia. The project includes building a high-bay warehouse with 27,000 pallet spaces, a seven-lane shuttle warehouse with 110,000 storage locations and picking zones, and a three-lane outgoing goods buffer. Körber is also implementing advanced automation and multimodal conveyor systems, including rail-guided vehicles, pallet and container conveyors, and dolly-stacking machines. All systems will be managed by Körber’s proprietary K.Motion PMS and material flow software. The project began in February 2025 and is expected to go live by mid-2027. This expansion not only addresses Rossmann’s short-term needs but also positions the company for long-term scalability and growth.

Augment, an AI-driven logistics startup founded by Harish Abbott, has raised $25 million in seed funding from 8VC to accelerate the development of its flagship product, Augie—an AI “teammate” designed to streamline complex logistics workflows. Unlike traditional automation tools, Augie integrates with transportation systems and communication platforms like Slack and email, handling tasks such as emails, calls, data entry, and cross-department collaboration. Abbott, who previously co-founded Deliverr (acquired by Shopify for $2.1B), built Augment after realizing logistics professionals spend much of their time on tedious tasks. Backed by deep industry research and partnerships with logistics firms like Arrive Logistics, Augment aims to boost efficiency, morale, and decision-making. The new funding will support team expansion in San Francisco, Toronto, and Chicago, as well as further development of Augie’s capabilities.

Read more on recent highlights

• Labor: The most persistent global supply chain threat
• Fashion: Europeans buy more clothes than ever before
• Denmark's biggest retail group is adding 'European' labels to products
• Coming to a store near you: double-digit coffee price hikes
• How a key ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M's is smuggled from war-torn Sudan
• Cobalt prices spike as Congo export halt rattles supply chain
• Online retail: Otto increases sales significantly
• Amazon: Online giant officially opens logistics center in Dummerstorf
• Inside Schneider Electric's US$700m supply chain investment
• Logistics firm Kuehne+Nagel to profit from complexities around global trade war
• Hyundai Motor Group commits to U.S. growth with USD 21 billion investment
• o9: Modernising end-to-end planning capabilities for Mango
• Amazon launches a carbon credit service, enabling access to high-quality credits for qualified companies
• Volkswagen's Audi to cut 7,500 jobs in administration, development by 2029
• German postal giant DHL cuts 8,000 jobs, biggest domestic cull in decades
• Silk Typhoon targeting IT supply chain

Dive deep into research

"Sustainable reverse logistics network design using simulation: Insights from the fashion industry" by Fani, V., Bucci, I., Bandinelli, R., and da Silva, E. R. (2025)

"Optimization of sustainable coal procurement for power plants under maritime transportation uncertainty" by Liu, Q., Wang, X., Liu, H., Meng, L., and Hao, C. (2025)

"Intervention schedule optimization with travel time minimization for a Value-Added Reseller by solving the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem" by De Kuyffer, E., Joseph, W., Martens, L., and De Pessemier, T. (2025)

"Robust fuzzy programming for designing a closed-loop supply chain under uncertainty and flexible constraints" by Hosseini Dehshiri, S. J., and Amiri, M. (2025)

Events

Automotive Masterminds

When: 5. - 6. May 2025

Where: Berlin, Germany

What: Event will bring together over 350 industry leaders to discuss the future of mobility, focusing on software-driven innovation, autonomous driving, and electrification. The event offers expert insights, strategic discussions, and networking opportunities, including test drives, B2B meetings, and an exhibition of cutting-edge automotive technologies.

LOGISTICS & AUTOMATION

When: 7. - 8. May 2025

Where: Dortmund, Germany

What: The focus of the event is on the quality of the visitors, who can experience the entire intralogistics value chain: From conveyor technologies, sorting systems and warehouse equipment to automated solutions and e-logistics, the trade fair provides a range of products and services that appeal to companies, experts and users from all branches of industry.

World Retail Congress

When: 12. - 14. May 2025

Where: London, UK

What: The World Retail Congress will bring together global retail leaders to discuss innovation, consumer trends, and the future of the industry. This premier event will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with top executives, policymakers, and disruptors shaping retail’s evolution. Attendees will gain insights into digital transformation, sustainability, and emerging business strategies driving success in an ever-changing market.

rapid.tech 3D

When: 13. - 15. May 2025

Where: Erfurt, Germany

What: If you have always wanted to know how you can get 3D printing up and running profitably in your company, then rapid.tech 3D is the right place to go. Here you will receive know-how from doers for doers and benefit directly from the intensive professional exchange with the experts.

BREAKBULK EUROPE

When: 13. - 15. May 2025

Where: Rotterdam, Netherlands

What: Event unites the project cargo and breakbulk industry. Bringing together over 11,000 attendees, Breakbulk Europe provides the ultimate networking platform to grow your connections, generate new business and strengthen key existing relationships. Join the industry decision makers in Rotterdam to drive the connections and innovation that support the completion of global projects.

Industrial Technology Summit

When: 21. - 22. May 2025

Where: Stuttgart, Germany

What: This new knowledge and networking format connects users and providers from the industry to collaboratively explore trends in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Summit targets professionals and technical decision-makers (such as CTOs) from various industrial sectors, including manufacturing, automation, logistics and IT.