Product shortages and supply chain snafus have topped headlines since COVID-19 caused the infamous toilet paper shortage of 2020.

Now, more than two years later, supply chain disruptions and the resulting empty shelves – or dramatic increase in prices – have become commonplace. These disruptions have impacted consumers in almost every aspect of life, from backordered garage doors due to aluminum shortages, to empty hot sauce shelves due to drought-affected chili peppers.

While supply chain disruptions are frustrating for consumers, they can be costly, or even debilitating, to businesses. Companies have largely dealt with the recent disruptions with short-term solutions. Easing pandemic restrictions seemed like it should allow for business as usual to resume around the globe. But closed factories, blocked trade routes and other logistical woes have become the new normal.

Experts now say that to protect themselves from the increasing frequency and severity of unreliable supply chains, businesses need to start finding long-term solutions to predict, adapt to and mitigate the negative effects of disruptions.

Investing in location tracking technology is one way businesses can help build supply chain resilience to protect operations and revenues.

Why adapting supply chain infrastructure is crucial

Ongoing supply chain problems are a greater threat to companies now than current concerns over inflation. Supply chain interruptions can cut off products, production, deliveries and – ultimately – profits, which is why many CEOs are focused on overhauling their current, outdated supply chain models.

It’s projected that over the next 10 years, current supply chain models – and the associated disruptions – could cost some companies as much as six months’ profits.

That’s because the backlog of shipments and materials shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by interruptions in supply chains caused by the war in Ukraine, won’t be easily erased.

While the dramatic rises in inflation rates and commodity pricing is a concern for many businesses, developing more resilient logistics still takes top priority because it can be harder to predict, and therefore react to, a sudden stop or delay in the supply chain.

How location tracking can make supply chains more resilient

Location tracking technology has evolved and grown over the last decade. The primary limitation of the technology is that companies get location updates at specific checkpoints within the supply chains, as cartons, vehicles or boxes are scanned through stop points or warehouses.

As location tracking technology has advanced, the move has been toward creating location intelligence – technology that gathers and analyzes supply chain location data to generate valuable insight about the product movement and handling in real time through the supply chain.

Using location intelligence and other location tracking technology, companies can develop a more resilient supply chain. The technology can help logistics teams to predict how goods will flow through the supply chain to proactively identify potential disruptions and have solutions available should problems arise.

Location tracking technology also can help strengthen businesses by identifying efficiencies and improving customer care, and helping address a company’s environmental impacts.

Using location tracking technology to combat supply chain disruptions

The primary problem with the current location tracking technology is that it leaves blind spots at  points of the supply chain to supply chain managers. That’s because location tracking technology to date has focused on delivering location updates when goods pass through certain stop points within the supply chain.

This often makes supply chains reactionary. Managers discover problems with a shipment when the shipment fails to show up on time to the next checkpoint. From there, supply chain managers must react, looking for solutions to a problem that has already occurred and is already impacting the business.

Location tracking technology – particularly location intelligence – now seeks to help supply chain managers be proactive in identifying and solving interruptions to the supply chain. Newer location tracking technology allows supply chain managers to monitor shipments that are actively in transit.

This means they can spot delays, or potential delays, sooner and work proactively to limit the impact of those delays on the rest of the supply chain, and on overall business operations.

Improving efficiency and customer care with location tracking technology

Location tracking technology goes beyond monitoring the movement of goods and spotting disruptions. It can also allow companies to capture valuable data on overall logistical operations. Having data about every point in the supply chain enables  managers to look for opportunities to improve efficiency. With accurate data on how goods move through warehouses, yards and distribution centers, logistics teams can discover how to best increase productivity, cut costs and invest within their supply chains.

Some location tracking technology goes so far as to use machine learning and artificial intelligence to quickly provide insights into the supply chain using the gathered data.

With AI and machine learning tools, companies stand to discover solutions to otherwise unsolved logistical problems or to find strategies to help meet preset supply chain goals.

Additionally, location tracking technology can allow for better customer service. Due to the unpredictability currently plaguing many supply chains, companies are often struggling to make accurate ETAs and shipping cost estimates for their customers. Often, that means padding delivery times to create a cushion for potential disruptions or unexpected costs.

Accurate location tracking using available technology allows companies to more accurately predict ETAs and costs, which makes companies more reliable in the eyes of their customers, and may allow for shorter shipping-time or lower cost estimates that could bring in more customers.

Meeting environmental goals with supply chain insights

Lessening environmental impacts and carbon footprints has become an increasingly important goal for many companies, as customers look to do business with environmentally friendly brands and governments increase restrictions on carbon emissions.

The same technology used to build more resilient and efficient supply chains also can be leveraged to set and meet businesses’ environmental impact goals.

For companies looking to improve their climate change impact, location tracking provides a clearer picture of current carbon emissions. With a clear picture of the environmental impact of their supply chains, companies can goal set for cutting carbon emissions and other environmental impacts and track progress toward meeting those goals. Just as AI and machine-learning tools can help companies spot operational efficiencies within the supply chain, they can also be used to spot environmental inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement.

Adopting location tracking technology for a stronger supply chain

Large vendors are already beginning to invest and expand their use of the latest location tracking technology to build more efficient and resilient supply chains, and that technology is expected to find its ways to smaller operations quickly. It’s estimated that within the next four years, more than 75% of supply chain applications will come with the built-in advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning tools that allow supply chain managers to modernize and strengthen their companies’ logistical operations.

With location tracking technology in place, companies can develop an invaluable logistics “command center” that monitors all aspects of the supply chain from a central location. From that command center, logistics teams can work across various areas of the company and supply chain to identify and implement solutions to breaks in the chain or inefficiencies.

For smaller companies who may only be able to integrate location tracking technology in a limited way, supply chain managers can work to identify the most critical components, or the riskiest routes within the supply chain to implement new location tracking technology there first. They also can begin to develop strategies that will take full advantage of coming developments in location intelligence and location tracking to prepare for the future accessibility of those technologies.

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Managing Risk in the Global Supply Chain, a report by the supply chain management faculty at The University of Tennessee, ranks natural disasters as the third biggest supply chain risk, following quality problems and the need for increased inventory due to longer supply chains.

The March 11, 2011 natural disaster in Japan brought to light the fragile nature of the global supply chain. Professor Willy Shih discussed how companies should be rethinking their supply chain strategy in response to this risk.

Very little has appeared to change in the five years following.

According to the study, 90% of firms do not formally quantify risk when sourcing production. Most firms, 54%, consider unit cost, transportation and inventory, while 36% of them consider only unit cost and transportation.

“Manufacturers have spent years building low-cost global supply chains. Natural disasters are showing them just how delicate those networks really are,” Bill Powell argued in a 2011 article for Fortune.

Natural disasters such as the Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011 reveal just how quickly this carefully crafted ecosystem can be dramatically disrupted.

As Bob Ferrari, a leading supply-chain consultant, puts it:

You never want to hear about the guys who run the supply chains for multinational companies. When you do, usually it means something really bad has happened.

The need for better warning recognized at the top

The White House recently held an Earthquake Resiliency Summit, which brought Interior Secretary Sally Jewell together with the USA’s best seismologists.

Spurred on by new fears that the “Big One” will soon be rattling the West Coast, the administration proposed stronger efforts to prepare for earthquake-related devastation.

“We have the real opportunity to mitigate damage and save lives if we act now on an early warning system,” said summit participant Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

“Seismologists and other experts say that, in theory, early notification of an impending quake – even if it’s just a few seconds – would help. Transit systems could slow trains; pipelines could be closed off; first responders could be alerted; power could be rerouted; other public sector utilities could be warned as well.”

How common are quakes around the world? The USGS said there were 14,588 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater throughout the world in 2015; California has scores of quakes every week, but most are not strong enough to be felt by residents.

As you might expect, California tops the list of states most at risk, but states in the eastern United States have a greater chance of having a damaging quake than was previously thought.

A lot was learned from the magnitude-5.8 earthquake that hit Virginia in 2011, researchers say; the quake caused considerable damage and forced the Washington Monument to close for repairs, which were just completed in May 2014.

There are other parts of the U.S. where the “Big One” could strike. The New Madrid Fault Line zone in the central United States also has more potential for a larger quake than previous estimates suggested.

The zone could have a devastating earthquake that would be felt in nearly a dozen states, researchers say, threatening large cities such as St. Louis, Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta.

The recent catastrophes in Japan, Nepal and New Zealand show that the threat of devastating earthquakes remains a worldwide problem.

Until recently, the mitigation of the effects of earthquakes did not occupy a high priority in discussions of supply chain disruption. One of the reasons for that is the fact that earthquakes are so different from other natural hazards.

They cannot be predicted, and when they occur the warning time, even with an early warning system in place and operating, is measured in seconds – typically 15-20 seconds, depending on the distance from the epicenter.

That is a vastly different scenario than other disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires and even tsunamis.

How does earthquake early warning work?

When an earthquake occurs, it begins in one location and the energy that is released radiates out in all directions, causing the ground to shake in the surrounding areas.

Sensors in place throughout the region detect the initial earthquake and radiating waves of energy to predict where the shaking will go, how strong it will be, and how long it will take to reach various locations.

This information is then used to rapidly send out a warning, giving the recipients anywhere from seconds to minutes to take protective actions. The farther from the initial earthquake a location is, the more warning time they can receive.

What actions can I take in those extra seconds?

While a few seconds to minutes doesn’t seem like much warning time, even a few seconds of warning can enable protective actions such as:

• The ability of individuals to drop, cover, and hold on, turn off stoves or safely stop vehicles.
• In the workplace, personnel can move to a safe location, automated systems can ensure elevators doors open, production lines may be shut down and sensitive equipment placed in a safe mode.
• Surgeons, dentists, and others can stop delicate procedures.
• Emergency responders can open firehouse doors, personnel can prepare and prioritize response decisions.
• Power infrastructure can protect power stations and grid facilities from strong shaking.

What automated controls should be put in place?

Automation is needed to take maximum advantage of what may be only a few seconds of warning time.

• Warning appliances should interface with factory, building and process automation systems. Legacy warning systems like the Emergency Broadcast System are too slow for automated earthquake warnings. Communications should and can take less than a second to avoid wasting precious time.
• Communications to automated controls should be encrypted to prevent unauthorized access or terrorist accesses to sensitive infrastructure.
• Communications security is essential when using earthquake warning to automatically protect property or controls on transportations systems.

Preventing dangerous false alarms

If people don’t trust the warning they won’t respond immediately. False alarms must be absent.

• A false alarm in a nuclear facility transportation system or refinery can have extremely undesirable consequences, including incurring large costs associated with complex restart procedures and losses of revenue due to being offline, not to mention resultant impacts from service interruption, affecting downstream customers.
• Unlike all other natural disaster warnings, there is no timely way to confirm an earthquake warning. There must be an immediate response.

Training and education is crucial

People must be trained to respond immediately to the warning. Seconds count, and there may be little time before the damaging shaking begins.

All earthquake warning fundamentally relies on quickly and accurately detecting an earthquake, and then successfully sending a warning out to people and/or automated devices to trigger appropriate actions before the shaking begins.

But if the proper knowledge and training isn’t in place, prompting the correct reactions to mitigate disasters, the warnings alone won’t provide much of a stop gap.

Setting an example in risk management

IBM provides a great example of how companies can use this sort of technology to prevent costly disruptions in their supply chains.

With IBM’s huge global outsourcing budget totaling tens of billions of dollars, including 20,000 suppliers, its supply chain is understandably complex, especially since some suppliers are, by necessity, sole source suppliers.

Executing a global sourcing strategy, where sourcing is conducted across developing countries, has a cumulative effect on the amount of risk introduced into the supply chain.

To manage risk, the company’s global sourcing looks far beyond unit cost to the total cost picture. All dependencies are fully mapped, and wherever possible back up sources are identified along with their impact on the company’s supply chain.

The company also develops contingency plans for events that will eventually happen in the future (e.g. an earthquake or pandemic).

In March 2011, the Japanese tsunami and earthquake placed IBM’s Total Risk Analysis tool front and center, and it responded flawlessly. Within a few hours, IBM determined all its potential supplier problems, immediately assembled details and developed backup plans.

IBM’s recent purchase of the Weather Channel has added a myriad of predictive analytical capabilities to its arsenal. It has also added the resources of its Watson supercomputer.

The utilization of earthquake early warning technology is one more resource in its comprehensive portfolio dedicated to managing all manageable components of its intricate supply chain.

What is your company doing to identify and prevent major disruptions in your supply chains?

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