The Department of Commerce released its new SCALE supply chain risk assessment tool this week. The agency said it will help the government be “more proactive and strategic” in evaluating structural supply chain risks across the country.
The Commerce Department said this week that SCALE is the first tool of its kind that can help evaluate supply chain risk in hundreds of different businesses.
The agency said, the tool compares risks across industries and gives an in-depth assessment of what is driving those risks. SCALE will help the U.S. government make decisions and can help businesses have data-driven conversations about risks, opportunities, and actions that can make the supply chain more resilient.
By working with business and being analytical and proactive, we are trying to stop the supply chain failures that drove up prices for Americans during the pandemic and to give communities across the country new economic opportunities, said Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce.
Asst. Sec. of Commerce for Industry and Analysis Grant Harris said, to be proactive, we need the right insights and ideas, and we need to make data more actionable. SCALE is the first analytics tool of its kind because it changes the way we can understand systemic supply chain weaknesses that put the U.S. economy and national security at risk.
The agency said that “relevant insights” from experts in the field will be shared along with key findings from the data tool. It also said that it planned to get partners and the industry involved in the results.
The International Trade Administration, which is part of the Commerce Department, said it is having a competition to find new data or research that can help the SCALE tool use more risk indicators.
