Fasten your seatbelts: companies' challenges for 2026

The New Year approaches with a set of pressures that tends to raise the bar of what is demanded of companies. The convergence of technology, regulatory changes and more volatile costs creates an environment that rewards solid work structures. Daily management comes to depend on fine coordination among processes, information and individual capabilities. There is not much room for improvisation.

Technology will continue to gain ground, but less spectacularly than many predict. Artificial intelligence should raise the quality of analyses and reinforce the discipline of decisions, provided it finds processes that are at least minimally stable. Where there is method, it helps improve performance; where there is none, it only amplifies the noise. The challenge lies in preparing the ground so that technology becomes an organic part of the operation, rather than an accessory that “ages” quickly and falls into disuse.

Brazil’s Tax Reform, whose adaptation cycles begin next year, will require very careful reading on the part of companies in every sector. The shift to taxation “at destination” tends to change the composition of costs, the logic of pricing and location choices. Procurement, production and distribution will need careful reviews. We are still facing rules that are being consolidated, but the impacts will be broad and deep. Those who get ahead in this analysis will arrive at the new regime with more predictability and fewer last-minute corrections to make.

Supply chains reach 2026 still under pressure from variations in supply, unstable logistics costs and greater exposure to external risks. These movements reveal weaknesses that many companies still address only with larger inventories, an expensive and not very effective solution. The central challenge will be to better understand the behavior of the extended value stream.

“Bottleneck” points, the transitions between steps and the quality of the information that guides planning should generate stability in the operation. When this foundation is solid, the company reacts faster, adjusts course with less friction and sustains production and delivery rhythms, even in the face of unpredictable scenarios.

In the financial field, next year will demand careful selection of what deserves an allocation of resources. Pressure on cash tends to increase and will make it indispensable to distinguish tactical initiatives from moves that truly redefine competitiveness. Investments will need to be linked, concretely and measurably, to productivity gains, advances in quality or a real expansion of the capacity to serve relevant markets. Allocating capital to “peripheral” or non-priority fronts reduces room for maneuver precisely when organizations most need to concentrate efforts on what sustains them.

The national calendar will also have a significant impact. The concentration of holidays and large-scale events, such as elections and the World Cup, will reduce working days and require careful capacity planning. Organizations that treat time as a “strategic asset” will be better able to preserve their production cadences, even with fragmented schedules.

The picture taking shape does not call for spectacular gestures, but rather for consistency. Clear processes, reliable information and teams capable of acting with discernment when something deviates from what is expected form the basis of stability in volatile environments. It is these fundamentals that sustain trajectories of continuous growth, even when external conditions become less predictable.

Companies will reach 2026 with different degrees of preparation. Some will act on the surface, correcting only the most glaring and obvious issues. Others will revisit assumptions, methods and responsibilities to align work with what the new context demands. The difference between these paths lies in the ability to treat everyday work as the central space for value creation and problem solving. It is in the daily handling of processes, information and decisions that efficiency, learning and stability are consolidated. Those who manage to operate with clarity in this scenario will considerably expand their room for maneuver in the coming years.

Happy holidays! The column is going on break and returns in February 2026.