By Ashwini Gautam, Director of Software Investment Banking, Marks Baughan

Across a swath of industries, regulatory frameworks are reshaping how companies choose, use, and value supply chain and data integration technologies. Evolving, intensifying reporting requirements create new complexities for supply chain teams on a rolling basis. The outputs of supply chain and data integration technologies are now integral to meeting these requirements.

As a result, tools like supply chain planning software, EDI networks, and B2B integration platforms have been recast from operational infrastructure to compliance infrastructure. With compliance requirements penetrating every layer of supply chain operations — from raw material sourcing to final delivery — compliance is no longer a parallel process running alongside supply chain or data analytics. They are all one, with compliance embedded directly into operational systems that power supply chain decisions and data flows.

This convergence has shifted the investment landscape — driving M&A valuations, new investment theses, and competitive opportunities for supply chain and data integration tech innovators.

The Regulatory Forces Reshaping Supply Chains

Multiple regulatory trends are introducing unprecedented compliance complexity:

Traceability and Responsible Sourcing Mandates

Governments worldwide are mandating visibility into multi-tier supplier networks. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and Dodd-Frank conflict minerals provisions require manufacturers to map their entire supply networks, document material provenance, and demonstrate responsible sourcing practices.

ESG and Climate Disclosure Requirements

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), SEC climate disclosure rules, and California’s climate laws mandate quantified reporting of supply chain environmental impacts. These regulations require Scope 3 emissions data — the supply chain-related emissions that typically account for 70-90% of a manufacturer’s carbon footprint. 

Operational Resilience and Risk Governance

The US Federal Reserve and European Banking Authority now mandate operational resilience frameworks that extend explicitly to supply chain operations. The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) requires documented risk management processes, scenario planning capabilities, and crisis response protocols. Supply chains are now risk management infrastructure subject to governance requirements.

Data Integrity and Cybersecurity Obligations

Supply chain cyber risk is a growing concern, so NIST 800-171, CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification), and CISA guidelines impose security requirements on data transmission infrastructure. SOX, SOC 2, and industry-specific regulations mandate complete audit trails, transaction immutability, and data validation controls.

Third-Party Risk Management

Vendor qualification, supplier monitoring, certification tracking, and concentration risk management are now compliance requirements across US FDA-regulated industries, aerospace, automotive, and financial services. Organizations must demonstrate documented governance over their entire partner ecosystem.

The scale and complexity of these requirements has created a new dependence on the output of operational tools — ones companies use to plan, schedule, transact, and move goods.

Why Operational Data Is Now the Raw Material for Compliance

Compliance is tiny compared to the full scope of the supply chain. It’s not manufacturing, forecasting, logistics, or production scheduling. It doesn’t move goods, run factories, or allocate inventory.

But it relies on all those activities.

That’s why operational data — such as material flows, supplier relationships, and shipment records — has become the raw material for compliance. Planning tools and integration platforms increasingly fuel reporting on:

• Responsible sourcing
• Conflict minerals
• ESG and carbon emissions
• Third-party risk
• Quality controls
• Operational resilience

And more. For example, advanced supply chain planning tools support supplier traceability mandates. When a manufacturer can model material flows from raw sources all the way to finished goods, they have the data required to document their adherence to conflict minerals, forced labor, and responsible sourcing regulations.

In another scenario, supply chain platforms’ optimization algorithms that minimize transportation costs and production waste simultaneously generate the data needed for Scope 3 emissions calculations and sustainability reporting. 

On the data integration side, EDI networks create immutable audit trails with timestamp verification, sender authentication, and acknowledgement protocols — required features for SOX, SOC 2, US FDA regulations, and more. Secure data transmission through encrypted protocols address cybersecurity frameworks. And transaction data like shipping notices and bills of lading contain the information required for hazardous materials documentation, transportation emissions calculations, and sustainability reporting.

With operational data — and its infrastructure — essential to compliance, investors are taking note. Marks Baughan has advised on a deal signaling the convergence of operational and compliance infrastructure.

A Deal That Heralds the Convergence

Adexa, a recognized leader in AI-driven supply chain planning and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), served complex manufacturers across aerospace, automotive, electronics, and industrial sectors. In 2025, Marks Baughan advised the company on its acquisition by Eyelit, a leading provider of integrated software solutions that optimize manufacturing and supply chain productivity. Adexa’s core capabilities directly addressed emerging regulatory compliance mandates and governance requirements that are reshaping global manufacturing.

The strategic rationale behind the transaction was to combine Eyelit’s shop floor compliance infrastructure with Adexa’s network-level planning, traceability, and risk governance — creating an integrated compliance platform. 

The Eyelit–Adexa transaction underscored a broader market shift: regulatory demands are reshaping how companies evaluate supply chain technologies. Acquirers now look beyond operational performance alone and prioritize platforms that embed governance, enable end-to-end traceability, and support structured risk oversight.

Adexa did not start out as a compliance technology provider, but their innovations were swept up in the tectonic shift that is the convergence of operational and compliance infrastructure.

Why Investors Care (and What They Care About)

The Adexa deal highlights why valuations in the supply chain and data integration markets are shifting. Strategic acquirers and private equity investors increasingly evaluate platforms like these through a compliance lens, asking:

• Does this platform enhance regulatory traceability and transparency?
• Can it support emerging ESG and sustainability reporting requirements?
• Does it strengthen operational resilience and risk governance?
• Will it improve audit readiness and data integrity?
• Can it manage third-party risk at scale?
• Does it address industry-specific compliance mandates?

Platforms that can do all the above command premium valuations because they provide essential compliance data by embedding governance, traceability, and regulatory adherence into operational workflows. Technology providers that recognize this shift and position their capabilities accordingly will continue to be recognized and rewarded.

As the distinction between operational and compliance infrastructure blurs, Marks Baughan remains a knowledgeable advisor to innovators and investors in this market. We invite you to read more about Adexa’s sale to Eyelit.