Impact of the global economy and geopolitics on our business in 2025
Uncertain economic development, geopolitical conflicts and labor shortages partly caused global supply chain bottlenecks and additional complexity for businesses. High flexibility, standardized processes and targeted data analyses contributed to the management of our customers’ supply chains once again in the 2025 fiscal year. The increased uncertainty and limited clarity around future business performance, which resulted from changes in US trade and tariff policy, were reflected in the course of 2025 in a temporary slowdown in business activity for certain customers and in a temporary reluctance of customers to enter into new contracts.
Supply Chain: further revenue and earnings growth
Revenue in the Supply Chain division increased by 0.5% to €17,778 million in the 2025 fiscal year. Excluding negative currency effects of €562 million, it grew by 3.7%. The Life Sciences & Healthcare and Engineering & Manufacturing sectors were the principal contributors to this growth. The increase in revenue was bolstered by new business deals, contract extensions and continuing growth in e-commerce business. Revenue was up by 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
In the 2025 fiscal year, the Supply Chain division concluded additional contracts with a volume of €7.5 billion. The Retail (including e-fulfilment solutions), Consumer, Technology and Life Sciences & Healthcare sectors accounted for a substantial part of this.
EBIT in the Supply Chain division increased by 8.7% to €1,161 million in the 2025 fiscal year. This includes a positive net, non-recurring effect of €32 million, mainly due to changes in the consolidated group. Productivity improvements from digitalization, automation and standardization, as well as newly acquired customers, contributed to the continuing earnings growth. The EBIT margin for the fiscal year was 6.5%. In the fourth quarter of 2025, EBIT in the Supply Chain division increased by 2.9% to €267 million.
