Edge Data for Supply Chain Visibility with ACSIS & SpotSee

John DiPalo:When we look at data at the edge, it’s the actual information we see as product moves through the supply chain. Rather than theoretical, high-level information, edge computing—especially with the advent of IoT-based sensors—gives us real-time insight into what’s happening as product moves or transforms during manufacturing. The more real-time data we can capture, the more actionable supply chain solutions become. If an adverse event occurs during transport or movement, we can address it much earlier. Real-time actionable data starts with information captured at the edge.

Bill Wohl:That makes sense, which is why Tony, your business fits perfectly into this conversation. I know there’s a play on words in your company’s name. Tell us about SpotSee.

Tony Fonk: Yeah, you nailed it. You know, spot and see — that’s really what we help our customers do across a broad variety of industries. Predominantly life sciences, and then the rest of our business is almost half life sciences and the other half specifically focused on supply chain and operations. We help customers spot and see changing conditions in their supply chain, operations, process validation, and more.

Bill Wohl: And thinking about the context of this problem — which ultimately, I think, was the genesis of the demand for your business — a lot of supply chain ERP solutions… I started my career at SAP working on supply chain, but those solutions at a high level are really not designed to, to use your company’s name, “spot and see” all of these transparency gaps. What got things started, and where are you seeing most of the customer challenges today?

Tony Fonk: Well, interesting that you say that. If you think about it, it’s more about evolution than anything — for us as well. Parts of our business are as much as 50 years old in helping customers see what’s happening or see changes that are occurring.

From your days at SAP, I’m sure it started predominantly as inventory management — having visibility to your inventory. Even that innovation took a long time for companies to adopt, and many are still adopting it. Now, what we’re doing and seeing more broadly is — okay, I see it, but do I know what condition it’s actually in when I receive materials at my dock? Do I know if it’s had a catastrophic impact?

If it’s temperature-sensitive, do I know if a threshold has been exceeded, or a temperature-over-time threshold has been exceeded? Those are the pieces of data we’re adding. The infrastructure is already in place — RFID readers, SAP ERP systems. We’re developing products that fit into that ecosystem cost-effectively, adding one more piece of information: is it potentially damaged?

Bill Wohl: The challenge, of course, is not only to get that piece of information but then present it and make some decisions around it. So, does your business spend more of its time at the sensor level, or are you really helping customers figure out what to do with this information?

Tony Fonk: Yeah, great question. We separate our solutions into three different buckets: deterrent, detect, and diagnose. Diagnose is obvious — we take all these data points, aggregate them, and understand where problems occur. Detection is also straightforward, but historically, the problem has been cost. Batteries, processors, and cellular connections can quickly make detection cost-prohibitive.

To reduce cost, we focus on eliminating batteries and using the simplest forms possible — whether mechanical ways of detecting impact or tilt, or chemical methods — to trigger a data process. And deterrence is actually a big deal. Many customers come to us wanting to “catch” whoever is causing damage, often trying to hide monitoring. But in 50 years of doing this work, the most effective way to stop damage is prevention through visual deterrence. Let people know a package is being monitored, and you see a 40–60% reduction in damage. One automotive customer even asked us for empty cases of our products so handlers would think items were monitored.

Bill Wohl: It’s like a homeowner putting fake cameras up — same concept. But it’s easy for listeners to assume this only applies to perishable or regulated products like pharmaceuticals. You’re often solving supply chain waste issues, where people are losing or throwing away product. Why is that such a business problem?

Tony Fonk: In today’s era of operational excellence and Six Sigma, 99.99967% defect-free manufacturing is possible. Yet, global supply chain waste exceeds 2% of all goods annually. Inside a plant, quality may be six sigma, but once goods leave, visibility drops — multiple handlers, conflicting priorities, and uncontrolled environments.

The gap between plant quality and in-transit waste is visibility. The only thing you can control is putting a device on your product so you can see what’s happening, where it’s happening, and possibly who’s responsible.

Bill Wohl: You work with many different customers — not all SAP ERP shops. You probably see Oracle, Infor, and others. How do you build IT systems that work with everything? That has to be a challenge.

Tony Fonk: Standards are critical. Without them, you risk a customization nightmare. At SpotSee, we focus on simple, universal methods like RFID, barcodes, or even visual detection systems that can be captured in many ways.

Global deployments bring more complexity. Cellular capabilities vary — some markets are still 2G, others are 5G. You’d need multiple modules to communicate everywhere, which is inefficient. So we look for the lowest common denominator solutions that capture the necessary data and integrate it into the customer’s ERP system, whatever that may be.

Bill Wohl: Can you give a best-practice example? No need to name the company if that’s sensitive.

Tony Fonk: Sure. A major automaker with multiple suppliers within 100 miles wanted to stop incoming damage. They owned the racks that transported parts — from control panels to windshields to bumpers — all expensive and sensitive. We installed cellular sensors on the racks. If the racks experienced a force over a set threshold, the supplier was instructed in real time to turn the truck around with a replacement. Avoiding a production line stoppage can save millions.

Over time, they saw repeated damage in the same location. Investigation revealed a worn-down rail crossing on a key delivery route. The automaker paid to repair it and saw damage drop dramatically.

Bill Wohl: Without even inspecting the product, they assumed it wasn’t worth accepting.

Tony Fonk: Exactly. They diagnosed the cause and applied it as a standard — much like checking for scratches, but using G-force thresholds. The repair removed a recurring source of damage.

Bill Wohl: One last question. Sometimes, manufacturers lead these monitoring efforts. Other times, they push responsibility onto suppliers. How often do you see that shift?

Tony Fonk: We see both. Best-in-class manufacturers usually drive the program themselves. In industries where retailers hold more power, they often require suppliers to monitor and prove delivery quality. Ultimately, the question is: who pays? And in many cases, the one with the most power in the relationship avoids that cost.

Bill Wohl: John, as we wrap up, companies want better supply chains and transparency — but how do they get started?

John DiPalo: When you identify a problem like damage, start with technology that can solve it — but quickly follow with integration. Don’t let it be a silo. Bring that new data into your broader solution and combine it with business data so you can see issues, act on them, and measure impact.

You don’t need to boil the ocean. Start with one process or area where you see issues and expand from there. The approach is more important than the initial scope.

Bill Wohl: And as we’ve said, find small wins, prove the value, then scale. Tony, great to have you here, and John, always a pleasure. Thanks to SpotSee CEO Tony Fonk, ACSIS’s John DiPalo, and ACSIS for sponsoring this series.

We welcome your comments and questions. Engage with us and with Tony and John on the official ACSIS LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. I’m Bill Wohl, and from everyone at ACSIS, thanks for joining. We look forward to the next podcast.

Narrator: Thank you for listening to Supply Chain Visibility Stories, brought to you by ACSIS, the 100% supply chain visibility cloud solution provider. Visit us at acsisinc.com, or join the dialogue on LinkedIn and Twitter.