Company Applies AI to Supply Chain Data and Weather Event Histories to Automate Hurricane Preparedness for Customers

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) July 23, 2019

The 2019 Atlantic hurricane season has been underway for more than a month, and the meteorological organization NOAA predicts a likely range of nine to 15 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which four to eight could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including two to four major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).

The damage and disruption from 2017’s trio of hurricanes—Harvey, Irma and Maria, which together caused more than $200 billion in estimated losses—and hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018, stand as warnings to supply chain professionals about the need to prepare in advance to manage potential disruptions from hurricanes this year—and every year.

To underscore the need for such proactive hurricane planning, Resilinc highlights some sobering statistics derived recently from its supply chain database: 27% of supplier sites lack business continuity procedures; 30% have no disaster recovery plan for their IT infrastructure; 37% have no backup power; 23% have poor fire and safety systems; and 35% have poor logistics recovery.

“Unfortunately, it comes as a surprise to many supply chain managers that a large proportion of their suppliers are woefully unprepared to withstand major disruptive events like hurricanes,” said Sumit Vakil, Resilinc CTO. “This lack of transparency is especially true in the sub-tiers of a supply chain.”

To help its customers avoid disruptions during this year’s hurricane season, Resilinc has created an upgraded integrated solution that enables clients to look at their potential supply chain risks from these large weather events and quickly identify cost-effective mitigation strategies.

Using AI and Complex Data to Streamline Hurricane Preparations
Resilinc uses AI and data science to leverage the firm’s more than seven years of supply chain data, hurricane data and other factors to recommend customized prescriptive actions for customers to enhance their supply chain resilience.

Resilinc’s comprehensive hurricane preparedness solution includes core capabilities designed to help clients avoid disruptions from natural disasters and other supply chain disruptions. These core capabilities include:

1. Multi-tier supply chain mapping down to the product and part-level
2. Supplier surveys and site readiness assessment
3. Dashboard incorporating AI and recommendations
4. Ongoing monitoring throughout hurricane season featuring real time supplier impact confirmation during live events.

Resilinc’s automated service evaluates the vulnerability of supplier sites based on a long list of factors. These include the regional risks of hurricanes (called typhoons or tropical cyclones in many parts of the world), the site’s history of supply chain events, its management’s responsiveness to Resilinc’s past event impact queries, their business continuity plans or lack thereof, and whether they have alternate sites available, just to name a few variables.

Resilinc also analyzes key metrics from the customer side, such as how many parts or products are produced at the site, the percentage of sole-sourced items produced there, and the revenue at risk in the event of a disruption at the site.

The end result: hurricane vulnerability scores for each supplier site and a series of prioritized recommendations to mitigate the risks of disruption at the customer’s most vulnerable sites. “Based on data, heuristics, history and other factors, Resilinc will come back with very specific recommendations, such as ‘move inventory from that site,’ or ‘evaluate your safety stock for that part,’ to provide clients specific targeted recommendations to mitigation action and protect revenue” said Resilinc Senior Director Jon Bovit.

As the hurricane season moves toward the peak activity the weeks of late August and early September, hurricane watchers will be keeping a close eye on the strength of the El Niño phenomenon, a significant factor in the vastly complex global weather patterns that determine Atlantic hurricane activity. In the midst of such complexity and uncertainty, Resilinc recommends supply chain managers focus on what they can control: understanding the levels of risk embedded in their supply chains and taking advance steps to mitigate those risks.

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About Resilinc
Resilinc is the leading provider of supply chain visibility data-as-a-service and cognitive risk analytics solutions. Over 100 of the world’s leading brands rely on Resilinc’s AI-powered global disruption monitoring service to keep track of millions of parts as they make their way around the globe, touching hundreds of thousands of nodes.

Resilinc is the only company to consistently achieve success in mapping the supply chain multiple tiers deep, all the way down to part and site levels, and exposing hidden failure points and bottlenecks deep in the sub-tiers. Resilinc’s patented advanced risk quantification algorithms and easy-to-use supplier assessment solutions have established a new standard for measuring supplier risk. Companies use Resilinc’s cognitive sourcing and risk protection-learning systems to realize millions of dollars in savings by expediting raw materials or freight and lowering inventory levels while keeping their supply chains operating with greater agility and resiliency. For more information, visit http://www.resilinc.com.