CHICAGO: For the past seven years, a Munich-based firm called riskmethods has tried to interest companies in buying software that allows them to track all their suppliers in a way that minimizes risks in operating globally spread supply chains.
As many companies discovered during the initial wave of lockdowns, any break in this complex and elongated supply chain can cause production interruptions. Still smarting under the shock, they are now scrambling for tools to protect operations from future disruptions.In the aftermath of the outbreak, riskmethods launched an application that was focused on providing intelligence about the contagion's impact on supply chains.
Similarly, Instrumental Inc - a digital startup in California - is fielding a threefold jump in inquiries from electronics manufacturers for its artificial-intelligence platform that enables companies to maintain control of production processes at distant and offshore locations without sending engineers on site.
Orders at Minneapolis-based Hartfiel Automation, which distributes robots and automation hardware, are up 20per cent within the past two weeks, and inquiries are up 40per cent, said CEO Myron Moser. The orders and inquiries are mostly from businesses that were shut down at the height of the pandemic, he said.
Now, some companies are deploying vibration sensors in the factories of their critical suppliers to track if they are running or not, said Justin Rose, managing director at Boston Consulting Group. Chief Executive Jason Andringa said his team has been working the phones for the past four months to track down potential broken links in the supply chain.The cloud technology units of companies such as International Business Machines Corp, Microsoft Corp and SAP SE are seizing the moment, as are a new breed of service companies like riskmethods.