Port of Baltimore Underscores Need for Supply Chain, Transportation Visibility

This AI Ecosystem Report, featuring supply chain and procurement expert Joanna Martinez, an Acceleration Economy practitioner analyst, provides insight into supply chain visibility issues resulting from disruptions including the recent Port of Baltimore bridge collapse.

Highlights

00:51 — Supply chain disruptions continue to develop on a worldwide basis — events in the Red Sea are impacting shipments through the Suez Canal, while lower water depth in the Panama Canal is reducing ship traffic. Plus, other geopolitical events are causing disruption.

01:47 — The latest development: the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after being struck by a container vessel. Baltimore is the largest US port for handling agricultural products along with farm and construction machinery. It’s the busiest US port for automobile shipments as well: Last year, more than 750,000 vehicles passed through the port of Baltimore.

02:43 — There will be diversions to other ports and use of deep water and rail access and warehouse capacity. Those are attractive options but they mean longer time in transit for many goods to and from the US. This level of disruption makes a strong case to ensure visibility in your transportation capabilities to ensure your supply chain has adequate resilience to meet your service commitments. What are some key ways to do that?

Ensure your carriers are using generative AI to optimize loads and routing; the smarter they are about how they ship, the lower the risk to your business
Consider a Real Time Transportation Visibility Platform (RTTVP) — I recently analyzed Project 44 and Four Kites. The stated goal of each of those firms is to improve supply chain visibility across all modes of transportation including ocean freight as well as intermodal air, truck, and rail. They’re using AI and predictive analytics to provide greater accuracy than the carriers themselves.

There are other options as well; your choice should be guided by your specific business needs and your existing tech stack — especially your transportation management system and other supply chain software.