Mar 21, 2022The Biden Administration has announced the United States' Freight Logistics Optimization Works (FLOW) initiative, launched to pilot information exchange between supply chain stakeholders. There is a need for resiliency, transparency and a modernized digital infrastructure in supply chains, yet many organizations rely on legacy data-tracking methods when making critical business decisions. This initiative could help to narrow that gap.
As a recent CNN article explained, the White House's initiative will see Administration officials and private-sector businesses share data in order to drive efficiencies in moving imported goods to stores. "It's a fresh element of the Administration's months-long quest," reporter John Harwood explained, "to unsnarl overburdened business supply chains that have helped drive up prices for consumers."
The COVID-19 pandemic caused major shutdowns, and when the economy began to reopen, a surge in the demand for goods resulted in what Harwood described as "clogged delivery systems, most conspicuously with traffic jams at major ports that left cargo ships offshore waiting to unload containers onto docks already packed with earlier drop-offs." According to the article, the FLOW pilot is intended to ensure that businesses at various points throughout supply chains have access to data that can help them speed up deliveries, with the U.S. Transportation Department sharing information regarding cargo arriving at ports, bound for multiple destinations.
Although many large companies have deployed radio frequency identification and other technologies capable of providing real-time logistics data, not all businesses have made the jump to RFID, with smaller companies often left out of the loop. With the data-sharing that the FLOW initiative would allow, anonymized to protect proprietary information, everyone could benefit from being connected. We've seen evidence of this with the Federal Aviation Administration, which pools aircraft-safety data, and with the Department of Health and Human Services, which began sharing medical equipment and supply information once the coronavirus spread.
The current supply chain issues are not going to go away overnight. Businesses around the globe, from manufacturers and distributors to large retailers and local stores, have all been impacted by difficulties in moving goods from one end of the supply chain to the other, and it will take time to alleviate the problem. But the White House's data-sharing plan could offer some much-needed assistance that will hopefully lead to supply chain improvements.
Target, Albertsons, FedEx, UPS and other major companies, according to the article, are helping the White House "identify and operationalize a first information exchange that will support a more resilient and fluid supply chain." It has yet to be announced whether this program will be scaled beyond the pilot stage, but there's a strong focus right now on improving the economy, so it's a good bet that will be the case.
The White House has announced plans to put the U.S. economy on a path toward long-term resilience across critical supply chains, and to institutionalize that resilience throughout the federal government. The Administration has been working to combat supply chain problems affecting businesses and consumers, which has included carrying out a comprehensive supply chain review, identifying solutions to secure supply chains against vulnerabilities and risks, and setting up the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address pandemic-related recovery challenges.
Will the government's efforts enable the economy to significantly recover from problems caused by the pandemic? Will supply chains be restored, allowing manufacturers, distributors, stores and other businesses to get goods to consumers more efficiently? Let's hope so. For now, we'll have to wait and see what happens. We'll have to go with the FLOW.
Rich Handley has been the managing editor of RFID Journal since 2005. Outside the RFID world, Rich has authored, edited or contributed to numerous books about pop culture. You can contact Rich via email.
RFID Journal LIVE! 2022's Supply Chain/Logistics conference track will include vendors and end-user companies involved in speeding up the flow of goods using item-, case- and pallet-level ID and location data. To learn more, visit the event's website.
