Earthquakes, droughts, missile attacks, and much more. There has been no shortage of disruptions across the global supply chain in 2024, but these disruptions do have a silver lining: They are shining a light on the importance of supply chain visibility and orchestration.
This week’s headlines examine the role that visibility and orchestration are playing for organizations right now — and how their relevance will only grow stronger in the days to come. Continue reading to get the latest from around the supply chain and logistics industry, and get in touch with us at Cargologik to discover how our platform delivers the visibility and orchestration that are so needed right now.
Visibility Helps Created Needed Audit Trails
Visibility has become a hot topic in supply chain circles because it helps organizations overcome disruptions and keep their operations moving forward efficiently. As the European Union parliament approves a new business supply chain audit law, real-time visibility becomes increasingly important as a tool for capturing data and building an audit trail.
Major disruptions like the crisis in the Red Sea and drought conditions around the Panama Canal have shined a spotlight on supply chain visibility. As new regulations come into play, visibility is set to play an even more important role in the coming months and years.
Mending Supply Chain Fragility After Disruptions
Technology is the best way to achieve real-time visibility in the modern age, and it also holds the power to mend “supply chain fragility after recent disruptions,” according to Supply Chain Management Review. The story outlines how today’s supply chain tech can help organizations collaborate across their networks, assess the impacts of unavoidable disruptions, and prepare for whatever comes next.
At Cargologik, we call this level of collaboration “supply chain orchestration,” and our platform is designed to serve as a single source of truth as supply chain stakeholders strive to achieve the level of orchestration that’s needed in the modern age.
Survey: Few Firms are Prepared for Supply Chain Disruptions
Unfortunately, organizations have been slow to adopt the systems, processes, workflows, and technologies needed to respond quickly to supply chain disruptions. New survey data indicates that only 17% of leaders believe they can respond appropriately to disruptions within 24 hours.
Of course, this is a serious problem for organizations in the supply chain. Without the ability to respond to disruptions, the results could include significant delays, bottlenecks, and customer dissatisfaction. The organizations that can respond quickly (roughly 17%, according to the survey) will be positioned to gain a competitive advantage as the global supply chain continues to experience disruptions large and small on a regular basis.
How Trade Tensions Could Reshape the Global Supply Chain
As the global supply chain continues to experience a steady stream of disruptions, there’s a more subtle shift taking place that could reshape worldwide shipping and logistics in the coming years. Trade tensions between the United States and China could introduce new “costs, delays, and a shift toward diversification and resilience in response to tariffs and protectionism.”
Just as visibility and orchestration are essential to overcoming disruptions and developing supply chain resilience, they will also be important as organizations try to navigate the shifting sands of the global supply chain. Will manufacturing move to India? Will more organizations nearshore in Mexico? Will the making of goods return to the United States? Whatever the answers to these questions, visibility, and orchestration will help BCOs, LSPs, and others make the transition more smooth.
Taiwan Provides a Lesson in Supply Chain Resilience
According to Supply Chain Brain, if you’re looking for a lesson in supply chain resilience, look no further than the recent earthquake in Taiwan. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake on April 3 caused significant loss of life and damage to infrastructure, which are the primary concerns. Secondarily, the earthquake happened in a nation that manufactures 60% of the world’s semiconductors.
The country’s largest semiconductor manufacturer was able to quickly resume operations because Taiwain “implemented sweeping changes to its building codes and retrofitted existing structures to withstand a future disaster” after a similar earthquake in 1999. The result was limited damage, and the country’s industrial operations were able to move forward in just a matter of days.
Taiwan’s resilience can be used as a template for other nations as they prepare for natural disasters.
Get the Supply Chain Visibility and Orchestration You Need
A fragmented tech stack won’t help you overcome disruptions and keep operations going in the midst of supply chain strife. You need a single source of truth platform that can assist with true supply chain orchestration — everything from visibility to document management and more.
At Cargologik, our platform delivers orchestration that can help you generate ROI for your investment in supply chain operations and related technology. Are you ready for visibility and orchestration in a single platform? Get started now.
