My First Podcast

In our industry I find that everyone I work with is eager to learn (including myself), yet I think we can all agree and that the news that is available is overwhelming and time to select and read the most critical pieces is limited. It is for this reason that Intertek on a monthly basis offers the Supply Chain Assurance Intelligence Newsletter.

I was asked to review and discuss our most recent (July/August) newsletter with my colleague Jenna Pires and turn it into a podcast. While there were many interesting articles in our newsletter, the one I would like to highlight is the one in Supply Professional related to supply chain transparency.

While the pandemic is and has been extremely challenging for the far majority of us, I like that this article looks at some positive change that may come from it as the article argues that the pandemic may accelerate the use of technology in supply chain audits, making supply chains more transparent and resilient.

How do they expect this happen? The article describes that food shortages in our stores raise awareness with consumers on supply chains and where their products are coming from. At the same time, it will make consumers aware that supply chains are murky and urge consumers to push for action of brands which may result in some overdue changes.

The article writes that they think existing technology can help with more insight into what is happening in supply chains, potentially even in a real-time.

Technology, they mention, that can help with this is Blockchain, chemical footprinting, drones, yet also DNA-testing, sensors, satellite imaging, and cloud computing. By introducing, for example, real-time monitoring, we should be able to see early warnings of potential problems such as working conditions, inventory shortages, or production breakdowns.

To listen to my first podcast discussing this article and more recent articles in more detail, please go here:

https://www.intertek.com/auditing/aia-podcast/