Can technology untangle a supply chain crisis?
With sensors, systems and connectivity, two experts are building a more resilient global supply chain
Imagine you’re in charge of getting a life-saving shipment of medications delivered from the other side of the globe. Suddenly, there’s an issue: the shipment is stuck in transit in a far-off port, possibly for weeks. What do you do?
For these two supply chain experts, it’s a familiar story. Jayashankar Swaminathan and Kay Irwin have seen supply chain crises roil businesses and shake up the economy in the pandemic and beyond. Now, they’re working to strengthen supply chains and build a more resilient global economy.
Dr. Swaminathan, a professor of operations at UNC-Chapel Hill, stresses the importance of visibility into the supply chain: for businesses to pivot quickly in the face of a crisis, they need technology that can immediately tell them what other supplies they have on hand, where those supplies are, and how they can fill the gap.
With valuable deliveries like medications or even election ballots, businesses need to track where a shipment is at every step in transit. Kay Irwin, who leads the supply chain and asset tracking practice at AT&T Business, describes how purpose-built IoT sensors can not only follow a shipment throughout its journey, but make sure the shipment is being kept at the right temperature, and that nothing inside has been broken or tampered with.
These vital technologies rely on powerful local networks within warehouses and on manufacturing floors. But they also require reliable, worldwide connectivity, like satellite and cellular networks that reach across land, sea and air. With the right technology, supply chains can bounce back quickly from crises and get the right shipments to the right people at exactly the right time.