Army Turns to Data Analytics for Mitigating Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

There has been an impressive growth curve in revenue from big data and business analytics for some time now. In 2015, the global earnings from big data and business analytics were US$122 billion. By 2022, that figure will be close to $274.3 billion. Several factors contribute to this growth, like the rapid development of mobile data and cloud computing traffic and the significant surge in cutting-edge technologies such as AI and IoT.

A market growing this strong over such a short period implies a fast proliferation of the service in many different areas. One such sector keen to leverage the benefits of data analytics is the Army. A specific focus area is the Army’s logistics systems to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities. 

Leveraging Data Analytics

“The Army’s focus on utilizing data analytics capabilities is quite clear. It wants to avoid predictable surprises by introducing robust data analytics capabilities while modernizing its enterprise resource planning systems,” said Lieutenant General Duane Gamble, deputy chief of staff, G-4, for the Army.

Gamble spoke at an event at the Hudson Institute on November 15th, focusing on supply chain disruptions. According to Gamble, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic worked as a catalyst and motivated the Army to focus on its business analytics and intelligence capabilities for its current ERP systems. He advocated for a “cooked in” prognostic that would serve as part of the Army’s overall enterprise business system. The data would empower the Army with enterprise, operational and tactical advantages achieved through the functional route of continuous monitoring.

There are predictable disruptions, and one should not feel surprised by them. On the contrary, Gamble believes that if one puts together a mechanism that sheds light on the vulnerabilities on time, any system could get sufficient time to plan, prioritize, and mitigate. 

Gamble is also not advocating for a sweeping increase in resources. More resources do not necessarily translate into more resilience. What Gamble believes should be more efficient is using existing systems in a different way based on insights derived from hard data. Jennifer Bisceglie, the CEO of Interos, agrees. Bisceglie thinks that building a resilient and transparent supply chain should not cost the government extra. She added that it is also the responsibility of the vendors to come up with solutions without adding an extra burden of cost. The industry has to figure it out.