Across Europe, defence spending is surging. Governments are placing massive orders for military equipment. For aerospace and defence manufacturers, this means new opportunities, larger contracts, and higher volumes. But there’s one major challenge standing in the way: supply chains that aren’t ready to scale.
When defence production ramps up, the weakest link isn’t always your supplier. More often, it’s the systems that connect you to them. Outdated portals, manual processes, and scattered communication across emails and spreadsheets slow everything down, just when speed and accuracy matter most.
Disruption is the new normal
The pressure on defence supply chains isn’t just about higher volumes. Global instability and shifting trade policies are reshaping sourcing decisions overnight. One of the clearest examples: new tariffs that are driving up costs and disrupting long-term agreements.
If your suppliers or Tier-1 vendors are suddenly hit with new trade restrictions, those tariffs aren’t just an abstract policy. They can immediately raise costs, disrupt contracts, or force suppliers to pivot production with little warning. We’ve broken down the implications here: The Trump Tariff Effect on Your Supply Chain
What used to be a finance issue is now a sourcing crisis. Procurement teams suddenly find themselves at the center of strategy, tasked with rerouting orders, onboarding new suppliers, and maintaining continuity under pressure. Without the right tools, it’s nearly impossible to keep up.
The hidden failures inside defence supply chains
Here’s what we see time and again when supply chains are pushed to their limits:
- Unconfirmed POs go unnoticed until on-time delivery fails
- Engineering changes get buried in emails
- Quality notifications arrive late — or not at all
- Tier-1 suppliers switch sourcing, and you're the last to know
- Co-manufacturers lack the digital capabilities to provide visibility and control
And in aerospace and defence, these challenges carry even more weight, with part-level traceability, regulatory documentation, and compliance records that simply can’t fall through the cracks.
To make matters worse, many teams try to fill the gaps with workarounds that feel efficient in the moment but collapse under pressure. This often happens because the tools in place simply don’t work well: outdated portals, systems that don’t integrate smoothly, or processes that force teams to step in manually.
We often hear:
“Our suppliers just don’t use the portal anymore.”
“We end up retyping the data ourselves.”
“It’s faster to call or email.”
Those shortcuts might keep things moving when volumes are steady, but as soon as demand spikes or trade policies shift, they quickly turn into bottlenecks.
The supply chain that adapts is the one that delivers
Winning a defence contract is only half the battle. The real challenge is scaling up, bringing on new suppliers, expanding volumes, managing complex documentation, all while staying in control. Many manufacturers are reshoring critical components or adopting multisourcing strategies to spread risk. But these strategies only work if your systems can keep pace.
That means:
- Onboarding new suppliers in days, not weeks.
- A supplier portal that’s easy to adopt.
- Automatic PO confirmations and real-time shipment visibility.
- Collaborative forecasting.
- Compliant e-invoicing.
- Shared dashboards that flag risks before they escalate.
Scaling isn’t just about size, it’s about agility. In aerospace and defence, many parts are engineered-to-order, with long lead times and strict qualification requirements. If your systems can’t support that level of agility, no sourcing strategy will save you. The companies that can adapt fastest are the ones that deliver.
Upgrading supply chains without replacing systems
The good news? Solving these challenges doesn’t require rebuilding your IT setup. At Quyntess, we help companies upgrade the layer that connects them to suppliers. By creating a collaboration environment that integrates with existing ERPs and processes, we make visibility, speed, and compliance seamlessly integrated.
Our approach gives manufacturers both a Single Version of Truth (SVoT) — a shared view of supplier data across the network — and a Single Version of Process (SVoP). With SVoP, pre-defined processes are built into the technology. That means new suppliers get up to speed faster and are guided to share the right documents and data on time.
Staying ahead with supplier collaboration
Defence supply chains face constant pressure. The companies that succeed are the ones that adapt fastest. With Quyntess, manufacturers gain a supplier collaboration layer that scales with them, keeps processes compliant, and ensures that even in turbulent times, supply chains don’t just survive, they stay ahead.
Let’s explore how supplier collaboration can give you the edge -> Talk to our experts.
