Issue Watch point: technology improves chains enough that dramatic reorganization becomes unnecessary

Summary

This issue is the third watch point in the report's supply chain story, and it runs against the story's main thrust. Technology may keep improving the transparency, efficiency and security of global supply chains. If it does, the pressure for a dramatic reorganisation of those chains would decline. Tools such as AI for logistics, blockchain for traceability, IoT sensors and 3D printing are already being used for this purpose. The existing global configuration might then largely hold rather than being broken apart. The watch point reminds readers that technological fixes could make large-scale reshoring less necessary.