Past attempts to monitor, assess or mitigate supply chains through data modeling have traditionally been limited by the scope of data capture. Previous models might only map a few strands of global shipping paths, leaving out the steps along the way, often handled by other stakeholders utilizing their own data collection platforms. Because important variables were often missing, insights from data analysis were clouded by uncertainty.
Digital fabric initiatives, by contrast, endeavor to build a far more comprehensive view of supply chains, interweaving massive volumes of real-time transactions. This effort results in higher-resolution detail from such technologies as RFID tags and IoT sensor data, but also broadens data capture by stitching multiple network databases together — even those operated by different enterprises.
While building a digital fabric architecture for relevant supply chains represents an extensive multi-year effort to establish the infrastructure, the potential benefits of a comprehensive voluble data model may have a powerful, game-changing impact on how global supply chains are orchestrated, with unprecedented capabilities for all parties involved.
This success guide explores the challenges and potential business implications of a wide-scale digital fabric initiative. Offered as a case study, the ongoing efforts at Molex — one of the world’s largest electronic interconnect providers — illustrate a proven strategy for implementation, validating specific initiatives taken to achieve the manufacturer’s long-term goals for optimized inventory management, reduced lead times and enhanced agility across thousands of global threads.
