The role of calibration in a decoupled world
1. Calibration could make it easier for manufacturers to work under multiple regulatory regimes.
If decoupling progresses at its current rate and geo-political tensions heat up, the global supply chain will inevitably fragment, giving rise to multiple or even regional supply chains as different economic blocs focus on protecting their interests. Rival regulatory regimes may make it next to impossible for manufacturers to operate in different markets. How do we ensure that a product or service produced through one chain can be distributed in another? The answer is calibration.
Calibration, with its objective of ensuring accuracy, precision, and reliability in measurements, serves as a common language in global trade. It enables manufacturers to consistently produce high-quality goods, irrespective of the production location while bridging the gap across regulatory regimes, ensuring products meet requisite criteria across borders.
2. Calibration could ensure efficiencies if supply chains fragment.
Even if decoupling forces the global supply chain to fragment leading to multiple chains fighting over a dwindling share of raw materials and investments, experts are already counting on technology to help solve the issue. As I write this, various industries are scrambling to automate their manufacturing to gain incremental efficiencies while reducing waste to a minimum. This means they are investing in IoT, AI, advanced sensors and all the trappings that come with Industry 4.0. It does not leap into imagination to realise that these technologies could help negate some of the inefficiencies that arise.
For example, completely automated factories near shored in friendly countries could negate the risk of higher labour costs. Green energy technology will allow countries to be more self-sufficient, reducing their dependence on hostile governments.
3. Calibration could ensure efficiencies if supply chains fragment.
Even if decoupling forces the global supply chain to fragment leading to multiple chains fighting over a dwindling share of raw materials and investments, experts are already counting on technology to help solve the issue. As I write this, various industries are scrambling to automate their manufacturing to gain incremental efficiencies while reducing waste to a minimum. This means they are investing in IoT, AI, advanced sensors and all the trappings that come with Industry 4.0. It does not leap into imagination to realise that these technologies could help negate some of the inefficiencies that arise.
For example, completely automated factories near shored in friendly countries could negate the risk of higher labour costs. Green energy technology will allow countries to be more self-sufficient, reducing their dependence on hostile governments.
Here, I can see AI being used to anonymise data, ensuring that different stakeholders can utilise the data without the security and privacy of the citizenry being affected. Calibration software could be used to ensure the validity of data/measurements, adding another layer of trust to information security systems. Additionally, calibration hardware can be used to ensure that field equipment and sensors (both prone to cyber-attacks) are accurate and have not been tampered with, increasing their reliability And, of course, even the calibrators need to be made secure. At Beamex, we are constantly working on building resilient connections between our calibration hardware and software, negating the risk of malware and spyware.
In conclusion, decoupling will have serious ramifications for the manufacturing sector and the global supply chain. Governments and businesses have learnt from the experience of the pandemic and are actively working to build up resilience across systems. Calibration will play a key role in measuring, testing, and validating this resilience, and in the process, it will open new opportunities for growth in a decoupled world.
