On supply chains and the modularity and morality of black boxes

August 10, 2018 6:33 PM

"Supply chains are highly modular by design. Think of the shipping container. It wasn’t revolutionary because it was a box; it was revolutionary because it was a standardized, interchangeable box that could be locked in and transported. It makes globalization possible—it makes global scale possible—because of what it obscures...It sometimes seems as though there’s a psychological way in which we’ve absorbed the lessons of modularity—although the world is more connected than ever, we seem to have trouble imagining and articulating how we’re linked to the other denizens of global manufacturing networks." Logic: See No Evil, by Miriam Posner (via kottke).
posted by MonkeyToes (11 comments total)

Just getting into this, and am surprised about how dense the opening is.

This isn't about logistics, it's about ethics too.
posted by yesster at 8:09 PM on August 10, 2018

This feels like it should have been closer to the center of this great piece:

Bellissimo, a Swiss chocolatier, sued Chocolonely in 2007, allegedly claiming that “slave-free chocolate is impossible to produce.”
posted by yesster at 8:15 PM on August 10, 2018 [3 favorites]

This is a great piece thanks and LOGIC mag is a great find.

I read both links while writing about carbon and supply chains and found a few things around what happens when you have black boxes in your chain - Tip of the Iceberg - An Anglican Church initiated NZ Govt conference - gets interesting from page 11 re national and global law re supply chain slavery.

I also found this blog - theway21stcentury which I'm still reading as there's more on the Colocolonely story. If your're not religious don't stray off that page.
posted by unearthed at 9:28 PM on August 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

This is a great piece thanks and LOGIC mag is a great find.

Seconded.
posted by roolya_boolya at 12:33 AM on August 11, 2018

In my Industry we talk about traceability in the supply chain; every tray of fruit can be traced back to the grower by scanning an attached bar code.

The Fair Trade movement also promotes traceability of product.

I think of these global supply chains as being like vast Empires. If you don't have access to these vast networks your a powerless peasant
posted by Narrative_Historian at 2:58 AM on August 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

I am dealing with this in my current position. We are asking people to buy the full story and transparency with their product. The trade off is long lead times and limited product choice. We have a few clients for whom that's a big ask.

A very well observed article, cheers. The costs of near instant gratification are significant.
posted by deadwax at 4:06 AM on August 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Bellissimo, a Swiss chocolatier, sued Chocolonely in 2007, allegedly claiming that “slave-free chocolate is impossible to produce.”

I know the guy who is currently in the role responsible for ensuring slave free chocolate for Tony's Chocolonely. I trust him to do the best job he can.
posted by infini at 5:54 AM on August 11, 2018 [9 favorites]

I promise to go read TFA right now, but this:
we seem to have trouble imagining and articulating how we’re linked to the other denizens of global manufacturing networks

Not at all, once you have spent some time out in the world beyond your town and country. New travelers get really hyped how different everything is, but after 25 years man I am so jaded. It's not the little differences, its how everything is the same, everywhere. You know your local convenience shop, the one down around the corner, maybe it is a 7-11 or Quickie Mart or whatever? I have exactly the same thing here in Nanjing, and there was one in Gua Musang, and Dubai, and...

There was not one in Myslenice, but that was 25 years ago, before globalism got its roots in thick and deep. China was still gearing up. But just as I was moving away they put in a McDonalds...

That plastic shit you see in WalMart and the dollar store? Yeah, that exact same shit is for sale everywhere on the planet.

A good read, kind of prescient for being from 1986, check out Cambodia: A Book For People Who Find Television too Slow by Brian Fawcett. There's a short story in there, forget the name, about the universal chicken nugget.

If you are still somewhere with local mom and pop shops, and too poor or out of the way to have a McDonalds, that is golden, treasure that. It is like the arctic ice cap and the fish, only a matter of time so enjoy it while you can! Globalism, as seen on TV and coming soon!
posted by Meatbomb at 8:52 AM on August 11, 2018 [5 favorites]

How do you manage the complexity of a system that procures goods from a huge variety of locations? You make it modular: when you black-box each component, you don’t need to know anything about it except that it meets your specifications. Information about provenance, labor conditions, and environmental impact is unwieldy when the goal of your system is simply to procure and assemble goods quickly.

And this is why, in the global capitalist order, there are slaves and sweatshops, this model makes them almost axiomatic. Also on the inverse why countries like Canada and Germany cannot compete on cheap commodities - stuff gets inspected, standards get upheld. As the Chinese coast joins the developed world the industry moves into the hinterland - into the shadows where exploitation can still be stuffed into the black box.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:11 AM on August 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

On the one hand, I'm for globalization, transparency, equality, nations helping other nations while working to end war and climate change, universal humanitarian principles....

I'm against racism, regional sexism, jingoism, totalitarianism, and a lot of other ugly -isms, including capitalism.*

On the other hand, it seems like the only reason for globalization is for the rich to move around the money**--mostly into their pockets, while they sell us plastic shit. I love having access to different foods all year 'round, but I know that comes at the expense of exploitation, pollution, and climate change from using fossil fuel.


*Except maybe cannibalism.
**We should eat the rich, it would solve a multitude of problems.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:53 PM on August 11, 2018

Great post, just the links in that article kept me busy for hours.
posted by Bornanerd at 6:12 AM on August 12, 2018