Next Street’s Industrial Supply Chain Forum recently hosted a webinar, “Navigating the Industrial Transformation in 2025” and in case you missed it, we’ve compiled key takeaways, links to the webinar recording, and other relevant resources shared during the discussion.

Key Takeaways

The Macro View

  • The webinar focused on navigating the industrial transformation in the U.S., emphasizing the crucial role of small businesses and their workers in supply chains amidst reshoring and industrial and trade policy shifts.
  • Panelists highlighted the need for a comprehensive “Marshall Plan for Small Business” to mobilize resources and build capacity within the small business sector and its workforce to meet the demands of the ongoing industrial transformation.
  • Key macroeconomic trends and policy shifts like the SBA’s “Made in America” agenda, tariffs, and DEI policy changes are significantly shaping the industrial supply chain landscape and require careful navigation.

What We Learned

  • Build industrial ecosystems by aligning supply and demand, supporting small businesses, and fostering trust through local stakeholder engagement and procurement-driven growth.
  • Translate big policy into local action with coordinated state and regional strategies that connect capital, workforce, and community investments—turning federal goals into tangible outcomes.
  •  Advance economic mobility without labels by focusing on practical, place-based solutions like workforce training and supplier development that create value and avoid politicized framing.

Recording & Resources

A special thanks to our speakers: Xavier de Souza Briggs (Senior Fellow, Brookings Metro and Co-Founder, What Works Plus), Susan Helper (Professor of Economics at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University), Julius Krein (Chairman, New American Industrial Alliance) and Spencer Lau (Director, Next Street) and moderator, Michael Roth (Co-CEO, Next Street).

If your organization would like to work with Next Street on opportunities related to the industrial supply chain and how it can benefit small businesses, please contact Andi Crawford.