Orders by Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz are causing huge disruption to global supply chains.

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The volume of ships able to pass through the route - which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels through - has dropped to just 8%.

Energy prices in Britain and beyond are already spiking as a result, even though the blockade is playing out thousands of kilometres away.

This crisis exposes the complexity of our supply chains and the extent to which they’ve become interconnected. But there’s still not enough safeguarding or risk mitigation to navigate these hopefully temporary upheavals. If geopolitical tensions become more volatile, high-impact incidents will only become more frequent.

And single delays can quickly cascade across an entire network, disturbing global supply frameworks.

In the digital era, it’s no longer a question of if disruption will take place, but when. Operators and policymakers need to understand where it’s most likely to erupt, and how they’ll navigate it, before new vulnerabilities appear.

Visibility is key to achieving that. While organisations have an abundance of data across the supply chain, they often have a limited understanding of how producers, warehouses, and distribution ports connect, limiting their ability to scenario-plan.

Industries such as manufacturing and energy are already leveraging digital twin technology to anticipate and combat such disruption.

Creating virtual replicas of supply chains using ‘knowledge graphs’ – when data is structured in a connected way and not in traditional tables and rows – means they can build a holistic, granular picture of their entire network, simulate how specific risks could unfold before they happen, and map how and when a specific part will be affected as an incident plays out.

These models offer incredibly valuable information for supply chain analysts, because they can pinpoint the next best routes or reinforcements for moving shipments far more easily, and in a cost- and time-effective way.

Tensions in the Gulf have reminded us of the fragility of global supply chains and the importance of business continuity.

Data has been the new oil for some time now, but organisations now need to see it as a connected network to pre-empt disruption. This shift will be key to keeping energy moving when it matters most.

Chris Upkes, Principal Professional Services Consultant, Neo4j

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