Cincinnati, OH: Covid-19 has made obvious what we at Supply Dynamics have long known. Hidden risks to global supply chains are a threat to the health of American manufacturing. The Department of Defense (DoD) is addressing this risk through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act has approved a $15 million initiative to fund several projects related to supply chain health and resiliency in the manufacturing sector. MxD, the nation’s digital manufacturing institute, is leading this initiative and Supply Dynamics has been engaged to join the effort.
The project will have two primary aims: (1) to enable informed decision making through increased end-to-end visibility into global supply chains; and (2) to enhance supply chain resiliency through advanced warning of possible disruptions.
The project will draw upon the proven expertise of a number of industry leaders. MxD will lead the technical execution and program management tasks. Supply Dynamics will provide a critical data extraction and data transformation role through its SDX supply chain visibility and analytics platform and its Part Attribute Characterization services. Microsoft is providing the cloud platform and some advisement on the project. Coupa is providing AI expertise and a value chain model builder. RAAD360 will contribute information about supply chain risks and Software AG Government Solutions will provide its webMethods API management and integration platform that allows the different systems to exchange information with one another. The Supply Chain Risk Management Consortium @ Lehigh University will be leveraging its 11 years in the supply chain risk & resiliency space and their SCR&R body of knowledge. They will also be providing education workshops, risk assessment tools, best-in-class risk benchmarking reports and SCR&R Scenario Playbooks. Several manufacturers ranging from a wearables start-up to a $12 billion conglomerate will provide data and an operational environment in which to pilot the combined solution.
Collectively, this initiative will seek to develop an integrated platform to model alternative supply chains using scenarios built on data about key elements of the global environment. These elements will include internal manufacturing data and data extracted from publicly available sources using machine learning. The ultimate goal of the project is greater insight into global supply chains. Deep supply chain insight helps companies leverage the information available to them to make better decisions, manage risks and be more resilient in the face of supply disruptions.
Covid 19 has presented major American manufacturers with unprecedented supply chain challenges. These challenges demand innovative improvements to enhance supply chain resiliency and reduce the risk of supply disruption. Our work will help the DoD and key manufacturing sectors to map existing supply chains so companies can identify vulnerabilities, foreign dependencies, single-source suppliers, and determine alternate suppliers. The tool will also have the capacity to analyze public data and predict future potential disruptions.
About Supply Dynamics: Supply Dynamics provides Fortune 500 manufacturers with real-time visibility and control over the material requirements of their extended supply chain. Our innovative supply chain analytics allow our customers to address the challenges of managing sourcing, procurement, and supply chain complexity in highly distributed manufacturing environments. To learn more, visit www.supplydynamics.com.
The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government. This project is sponsored by the U.S. Government under Other Transaction number HQ00342190010 between MxD and the Government. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon.
Published on
April 26, 2021
