Shoring up global supply chains with generative AI

The outbreak of covid-19 laid bare the vulnerabilities of global, interconnected supply chains. National lockdowns triggered months-long manufacturing shutdowns. Mass disruption across international trade routes sparked widespread supply shortages. And wild fluctuations in demand rendered tried-and-tested inventory planning and forecasting tools useless. "It was the black swan event that nobody had accounted for, and it threw traditional measures for risk and resilience out the window," says Matthias Winkenbach, director of research at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics.