Guinness shortage: a wake-up call for supply chain transformation

Posted on 13 Jan 2025 by The Manufacturer

At this point, we’ve all either heard of or felt the effects of the Guinness shortage. It’s been a tough pill to swallow for fans of the iconic stout. Whether the scarcity was driven by Gen Z’s obsession with ‘splitting the G’ on their pints or a miscalculation of production and distribution during a peak demand period, one thing is abundantly clear; businesses everywhere must rethink how they balance supply and demand. Tom Fairbairn of Solace explains.

The broader implications of supply chain disruptions

This isn’t just about Guinness – it’s a wake-up call for every industry. Supply chain disruptions are becoming increasingly common, whether due to unpredictable consumer trends, global crises or logistical challenges. For businesses to stay competitive and meet customer expectations, they must adopt smarter, more agile solutions.

Data: the backbone of modern supply chains

The foundation of any successful supply chain is data. Data is at the forefront of the machinery of supply chains, allowing businesses to make informed decisions, maximise efficiency, and react swiftly to changes in consumer need. Without real-time data, organisations are effectively blind, unable to adapt quickly to changing circumstances or anticipate problems before they arise.

Event-Driven Architecture to transform supply

This is where event-driven architecture (EDA) comes into play. EDA enables businesses to access, use and act on data in real time, ensuring the right information reaches the right applications at the right moment. Unlike traditional batch processing systems that rely on overnight data uploads, EDA provides a continuous flow of insights, allowing businesses to respond to events as they happen. This capability is crucial in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing markets – and unlike synchronous representational state transfer (REST)-based APIs, time isn’t wasted polling for data that hasn’t changed.

With a real-time, event-driven supply chain, companies can monitor production, distribution and sales data in all regions in real time, and act on it immediately, adjusting manufacturing and logistics. This is increasingly important in the era of viral trends such as ‘splitting the G’.

Moreover, supply chains underpinned by EDA allow for the integration of diverse data sources, from IoT devices in breweries to sales data at pubs and stores, creating a unified view of information. This holistic perspective reduces inefficiencies, prevents waste and ensures that resources are allocated where they’re needed most.

The growing complexity of supply chain challenges

Supply chains today face unprecedented challenges. In an era of reshoring and increased barriers to trade, consumer behaviours demand a level of agility that traditional systems simply can’t provide. Batch-based processing and overnight planning are no longer sufficient. Businesses need real-time, fully integrated and digitised supply chains to minimise the impact of disruptions.

The environmental benefits of this approach are also significant. By optimising supply chain operations through real time data, companies can reduce wasted energy, materials and time. This not only saves money but also minimises the carbon footprint of production and distribution, contributing to a more sustainable future.

A lesson learned: building the supply chains of tomorrow

The Guinness shortage may seem like a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a symptom of a much larger issue impacting organisations across all industries. As consumer expectations rise and the world becomes more interconnected, businesses that fail to modernise their supply chains risk losing their competitive edge.

By becoming more event-driven, companies can transform their supply chains into agile, responsive and efficient systems. The lessons from shortages like this are clear: businesses must prioritise data-driven decision-making, invest in real-time capabilities and ensure they are prepared for whatever challenges the future holds.

For those of us who love a good pint, here’s hoping these changes happen sooner rather than later. Cheers to smarter supply chains.

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