Feature three-dimensional image – and get some kind of depth.” Artificially intelligent systems could then count those containers, compare the current number of them to previ- ous amounts and determine whether any given port might be likely to become a bottleneck in the supply chain, says Kristal. Satellites could even provide the imag- es to count containers on ships coming into port. Supply chain managers could then use that information to come up with alternate routes to get their prod- ucts to their intended destinations. “The forecasting thing is the biggest Andre Cire Associate Professor, Operations Management, University of Toronto imagery to determine where to source agricultural and forestry products. “Agriculture Canada and Statistics Canada use satellite Earth observation to observe the productivity and health of a variety of agriculture ecosystems,” says Alyssa Roussy, a spokesperson with the Canadian Space Agency. “They also observe and monitor planta- tions of various crops, estimate anticipated yields and assess crop insurance claims,” she says. “This information can be used to determine impacts on commodity pric- ing or transportation systems.” Despite its current limitations, Guoqing Zhang Professor, Supply Chain Management and Logistics Optimization Research Centre, University of Windsor to have 100 operational satellites and more than 300 by the end of 2025. The idea behind that partnership is to combine Satellogic’s images with Descartes Labs’ analytical toolkit to provide very precise information about what’s on the ground, how it’s changing and to automate analytics processes. Think about getting access to the best information about crops to supply food processing plants. Other players in the sector are also the power of satellite imaging is undeniably already impressive and the sector’s ca- pacity is growing by leaps and bounds. Satellite imagery has already been used in conjunction with machine learn- ing to do such things as map all of the solar facilities in the world to help an- swer important questions about future photo-voltaic capacity. Throughout the world, including Canada, companies offering up these satellite images are boosting their capac- ity and teaming up with analytics firms to take this technology to the next level. In January this year, Descartes Labs and Satellogic announced a partnership to put 17 high-resolution satellites, offer- ing four visits to any location on Earth, at the service of their customers. By the end of next year, Descartes Labs expects adding capacity to make this technology available to even more decision-makers. In Edmonton, Wyvern is planning to launch its own hyperspectral-imaging satellites starting next year and have 36 of them in orbit within a few years after getting a much-needed financial shot in the arm from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) earlier this year. Murat Kristal, director of the Centre of Excellence in Analytics and AI Leadership of York University’s Schulich School of Business, sees a great deal of potential for satellite imaging and predictive analytics in providing supply chain managers with vital information. “Satellite imagery can now show us the stack of containers at a port and determine if that is a bottleneck,” says Kristal. “They can take pictures from various angles so I can get a real thing for a supply chain manager,” says Kristal. “If something is stuck at the port today, there’s not much I can do about it because I can’t move it myself but what is important is for me to have a buffer.” While the technology to use satellite imagery in tandem with predictive an- alytics to spit out possible solutions for supply chain managers in real-time isn’t there yet, the tech is already providing important logistics information. “Supply chain managers in several industries increasingly use Earth obser- vation systems to observe the evolution of a situation at critical bottlenecks such as congestion in a port, progression of loading-unloading, remote monitoring of supplier production, progression of con- struction sites and outcomes of disasters at suppliers or in a region,” says Roussy. Experts agree that technology to provide supply chain managers with solutions using predictive analytics in real-time – or close to it – is still a few years away. “The hardware is there but we need the software to use the satellite imag- es,” says Zhang. As the number of satellites provid- ing high-resolution images soars and more companies start providing analyt- ics to interpret these images and make recommendations, supply chain man- agers must remain cautious, weigh the pros and cons and not let themselves get overly seduced by these high-tech solutions. “Don’t trust the technologies blindly,” cautions Cire. “These are models and models can be wrong. Use your com- mon sense.” SUPPLY CHAIN CANADA • ISSUE 2 2022 • 13 © Denys Yelmanov / shutterstock.com
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