DHL has launched the ‘Supply Watch’ system that is part of the Resilience360 supply chain risk management platform. This uses machine learning and natural language processing to detect any disruptions in a company’s supply chain, according to DHL “Before they happen”.

“We provide our customers with a solution that detects and mitigates potential supplier failures before they happen, allowing them to focus on early risk mitigation and auditing activities of their most relevant suppliers and third parties,” said Tobias Larsson, Head of Resilience360, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation. “The insights and transparency customers gain through Supply Watch are another example of how digitalization can benefit end-to-end supply chain operations, through building resilient supply chains and enabling businesses to be more competitive.”

According to DHL: “Resilience360 Supply Watch monitors some 140 different risk categories including financial, environmental and social factors among risks resulting from crime, labor breaches, quality defects and supply chain perils such as shortages, capacity constraints and delays. Using advanced Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies, the adopted system analyzes data based on the monitoring of up to 30 million posts from more than 300,000 online and social media sources to detect potential supply chain disruptions.”

DHL say that the WannaCry ransomware attack is a classic example where the Supply Watch system could have saved lots of problems. DHL say that it could have helped to identify which suppliers may have reportedly been affected and therefore enable companies elsewhere in the chain to take appropriate measures. Better late than never…
 
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