It’s no surprise that Microsoft is always looking for the next generation in technology, says Dave Warrick, head of supply chain for the tech giant, and the company found that in Overhaul, a risk management and supply chain visibility solutions provider.

“We were looking for a solution that was going to be more than visibility,” says Warrick. “Visibility has become a buzzword in the industry, but visibility without actionable insights is just ability. It doesn't help you with your supply chain. When we sat down with Overhaul, we said we don't just want to understand what's happening. We want to be able to do something about it. We are very concerned about security in our supply chain. We're concerned about the integrity of our shipments.”

Visibility isn’t just about algorithms giving “some kind of indication where a shipment might be,” says Barry Conlon, Overhaul chief executive officer. “We have to know exactly where Microsoft product is at all times, no matter what the stage of multimodal transport across the globe is. Success with the partnership is very quickly determined if the product starts to suffer shrinkage or has been sent to the wrong location.”

Warrick feels the relatively young partnership has already paid off by keeping product safe in a chaotic holiday season.

Where are things going? “Supply chain and the industry are crying out for the ability to be able to predict, not just sense and respond, but anticipate and act,” says Warrick. “And I think that the foundation that we've built with Overhaul is actually the first step in that ladder of building predictability into the supply chain solution.”