GOODQUESTION
What Would You Put in a Supply Chain Time Capsule to be Opened in 2050?
A DESKTOP COMPUTER, like the ones many CEOs still keep under their desks. Managing supply chains with on-premise software
Burying Spreadsheets Spreadsheets
Today’s spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes. By 2050, supply chains will be fully intelligent, automated, and collaborative, powered by AI and real-time data. Today’s tools will seem as outdated as the fax machine. –Rodney Manzo Founder and CEO, Anvyl I would put emails and spreadsheets in the time capsule, representing symbols of the inecient, manual tools we once relied on to manage supply chains. By 2050, we’ll see them as relics of a past where data flow and collaboration were more challenging. –Mark Buman Chief Revenue Ocer, Magaya I would include an early 2020s spreadsheet-based sourcing plan. It will showcase our transition from siloed tools to interconnected, AI-powered platforms that ensure transparency, sustainability, and agility across global supply chains. –Lilian Bories CMO, TradeBeyond
is becoming impossible in the age of AI, where connectivity and access to data are everything. –Riika Söderlund
Chief Operating Ocer, Katana Cloud Inventory
AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE as they power much of our supply chain, and it will be electric in the future; barcode scanners, which will be replaced by cameras and transform supply chain visibility; and a photo of the Panama Canal, which is drying up due to climate change. –Sankalp Arora CEO & Co-Founder, Gather AI
A DELIVERY TRUCK filled with a hefty amount of spreadsheets. Between drones and autonomous vehicles, it’s hard to imagine trucks would still be existing
DATA THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE PERCENTAGE OF LOADS created or covered digitally today. Comparing this to where we’ll be in 2050 will illustrate the continued digitization of the industry. –Jared Weisfeld Chief Strategy Ocer, RXO COPIES OF OUR CURRENT CARGO THEFT LAWS and penalties, by state and federally, in the hopes that in 25 years when it is opened, we can see how far we have come. –Danny Ramon Intelligence & Response Manager, Overhaul
supply chain challenges—and a glimpse into how far we’ve come.
–Christopher Clemmensen EVP, Marketing, Echo Global Logistics
BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING, lifecycle maps, and upcycled goods to show circularity eorts. Blockchain ledgers, IoT sensors, and QR tools would highlight traceability, while certifications, sustainability reports, and policies reflect compliance.
in their current form.
–Josh Dunham CEO and Co-Founder, Reveel
A DIGITAL THREAD BLUEPRINT capturing how product lifecycle data integrates across systems—a snapshot of today’s advancements toward end-to-end traceability.
–Wesley Ekman VP EMEA, CGS BlueCherry A SCREENSHOT OF A LOGISTICS COORDINATOR’S INBOX, overflowing with “where’s my
–Jason Kasper Senior Director, Product Marketing, Aras
A GPS TRACKING DEVICE to represent real- time visibility and a paper bill of lading, symbolizing digital
truck?” emails. Future generations will be amazed that putting a load on a truck meant losing sight of it until (hopefully) it arrived, and that we operated global supply chains with such limited real-time information, just as we now can’t imagine how businesses once managed without telephones.
transformation. These items would serve as benchmarks for how far we advance by 2050. –Vlad Kadurin Chief Product and Operations Ocer, Ship.Cars A FLASH DRIVE WITH AI CODE would be proof of how we used data and algorithms to solve today’s
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–Nick Rakovsky Founder & CEO, DataDocks
14 Inbound Logistics • January 2025
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