SOS: Save Our Supply Chain

By now, we’re all well aware that the supply chain has been disheveled since the start of the pandemic. Lockdowns, resource and worker shortages, and ill-timed blockages at the Suez Canal all contributed to the pressures on suppliers and vendors to get goods to bored shoppers and amateur interior designers stuck at home.

But there are signs the pressure is abating. Data from logistics management platform Flexport reveals a 35% decrease in the number of days cargo is taking from initial shipment to hitting the shelves and a halving of the cost of a shipping container. But the return to pre-pandemic shipping times and costs may be an overcorrection for a market that’s gotten used to sky-high prices and long wait times. Companies that overbought pandemic-darling home goods like furniture and televisions are now selling them off at steep discounts. Adding to the predicament, customers fearing a recession and sweating inflation and the war in Ukraine are pulling back on demands for big purchases.

What will contribute to a more efficient, predictable, and less inflationary supply chain? At least part of the solution comes from improved technologies, software, and logistics tools. We combed the data to find some of the most innovative companies in supply chain solutions.