Improving government supply chain resilience

Government supply chains are among the largest and most impactful, which is why it is critical to highlight and resolve any issues that could potentially disrupt the supply chain. Most defence services, including the Australian Army, Royal Australian Airforce and Royal Australian Navy, must manage international operations that involve elements such as health care, food and beverage services, housing, transportation, utilities, retail and manufacturing.

The Office of Supply Chain Resilience advises the Australian Government and identifies and monitors critical supply chain vulnerabilities that could impact the country’s national interest. This includes health, safety or wellbeing, economic stability and viability, national security, and international partners. The office works directly with targeted sectors such as health care, food production, chemicals and construction to help understand Australia’s supply chain risks and provide warning signs of disruptions to critical supply chains.

When a crisis strikes, it is the government’s role to rescue people, stabilise systems and rebuild communities. For example, in December 2022, The Australian and New South Wales Governments launched a $22 million Supply Chain Support Program to help agricultural processing businesses impacted by the February and March 2022 floods. This was an initiative to help businesses re-establish operations.

If government agencies do not have visibility into whether they have the right supplies to support their constituents, they can face several issues, including:

• People and businesses may be left in a position where they must struggle to source for goods. People may need to compromise to either get what they need with less favourable conditions or receive non-agreeable substitutes at a greater cost, potentially leading to unrest.
• Unnecessary procurements may occur, leading to potential wastage from a financial and material perspective such as during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when there was a rise in ‘panic buying’.
• In the worst-case scenario, all services and support could come to a sudden and devastating halt.
   

When government supply chains collapse, very few private entities have the resources to backfill for the government. Therefore, it is essential that government supply chains operate with extreme precision.

Asset movements must be well coordinated and able to cope with changes based on real-time data capture for a clear picture of the total environment. Inventory must be perfectly managed to prevent unintended stock-outs whilst personnel and equipment flows are tracked and managed for desired operating outcomes. The government needs to look for ways to effectively manage stock rotations or assets and inventory even in chaotic and inconsistent environments, especially within warehouses.

How can governments improve inventory management and movements?

The Australian Government has recently launched the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative. This is an international collaboration between Australia, India and Japan to promote best practice national supply chain policy and principles in the Indo–Pacific. The initiative seeks to strengthen supply chains of the participating states through fostering closer interconnectedness of their business. This could be further bolstered by including how such businesses can boost resilience based on technology and insights used by other industries.

We already have great insight into what works and what does not based on other industries dependent on a supply chain, such as retail, health care and logistics. For example, we know that radio frequency identification (RFID) technology helps first responders maintain readiness, as well as accountability for equipment, supplies and their actions by providing real-time visibility across the supply chain. Additionally, machine vision and imaging technology can be used to automate tasks such as quality inspections and decision-making activities, which are traditionally prone to error when undertaken manually. It can also help preserve data privacy and product integrity of critical inventory during manufacturing.

Fundamental digital technologies such as mobile computers, wearables with built-in barcode scanners, cameras and voice-assist technology can also help boost productivity and efficiency for every frontline worker, whether they are responsible for assembling aircraft, receiving goods, loading pallets for transport, access control or facility security. This is especially the case if they are well connected via a standardised technology architecture and the mobility solutions are well integrated into workflows.

Every government agency leader, whether local, state or federal, needs to know what is happening in their supply chains and warehouses, and what inventory is in stock for normal and emergency disbursements. It can often be difficult to verify the condition of cold chain supplies such as medical equipment, oxygen tanks, pharmaceuticals or food. This is why the government needs the right environmental or temperature indicators on each item. Furthermore, it would be more efficient to find maintenance records of heavy equipment and other assets if they are centrally stored in a single system of intelligence updated in real time.

Government agency leaders should tap on technology to help see what is otherwise missed and, subsequently, help prevent issues with far-reaching consequences.

The warehouse maturity model

There is a warehouse maturity model that is universally applicable and could be integrated into every government organisation’s modernisation strategy along with best practices for manufacturing, shipping and logistics — many of which are derived from private industry and some from early adopters across federal, state and local agencies.

Before adopting this model, it is critical for government bodies to understand what it means to operate a ‘modern’ supply chain. Government agency leaders need to define its functions, confirm if those functions are feasible with current systems and processes, then look to plug gaps. In order to measure progress or get a project off the ground, these functions should be properly assessed in its current state.

It is also important to understand what technology can and cannot do — and how fast it will reasonably drive improvements. There are incremental and immediate gains to be made if leaders are thoughtful in their tech stack design and time certain integrations or expansions properly. A technology consultant will be able to guide you through the discovery, design, deployment and post-deployment phases with realistic expectations.

Finally, government leaders need to understand their roles and responsibilities in making sure the technology is properly used and fully utilised, by choosing the right consultant to work with. The technology will need to be properly integrated into processes and staff need to be adequately trained on how to use it. Leaders must also ensure they are using it correctly after they go live with scheduled follow-up activities to ensure continuous improvements to meet current and future needs.

Here is the top-level framework summary for warehouse modernisation:

• Phase 1: Governments should start by digitising their data and improving decision-making through building the foundation with barcodes. 2D barcode labels including RFID technology can contain the required data necessary for asset track and traceability activities within the warehouse.
• Phase 2: Enhancing workforce communications with secured data and voice communications can help increase productivity and workflow conformity. Government organisations should expand the utilisation of mobile computers, wearables and tablets for more ‘aggressive’ mobile data capture and processing operational requirements. This will likely require new software implementation, refinement and integration, as well as new wireless network technology or even cloud-based platforms. This is how transactional exchanges will start to improve, as people can report and retrieve status updates in real time.
• Phase 3: Government agency leaders should actively seek out sensing technology. This can include RFID, environmental sensors and Bluetooth Low Energy, which are all designed to reduce the number of human-initiated actions and potential operational bottlenecks. Such technologies can count inventory faster and more accurately, locate assets and provide Best Next Move Guidance based on outlined operational parameters than if it were done manually. This frees up time for frontline workers to focus on higher value activities.
• Phase 4: Leaders should regularly pilot new technology to maintain a competitive edge. Technologies like autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), new software, and machine vision and imaging systems can help automate key operations and improve decision-making and outcomes.
• Phase 5: It is critical that government organisations do what it takes to gain end-to-end visibility and control of the supply chain. In addition to the earlier mentioned technology solution deployments, this could involve incorporating outside data sources and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Government bodies are working towards establishing more reliable processes to address supply chain issues because they are expected to become more frequent in the coming years due to changing weather patterns and economic variables.
   

An important pillar of the solution is turning to tech-powered operations which can be scaled and adapted according to evolving government objectives. Through human-centred automation, those in the public sector can better serve their constituents.

Image credit: iStock.com/metamorworks