D-Wave launches a quantum supply chain initiative with the University of Arkansas

[Riley70]

D-Wave and the Supply Chain Management Research Center at the University of Arkansas' Walton College of Business are teaming up to apply quantum computing to supply chains, according to D-Wave. The deal creates a Quantum Supply Chain Initiative Support Fund and adds D-Wave to the centre's partnership programme, which already has more than 25 industry partners. The Walton name is a clue to the local connection. Walmart's headquarters are just up the road in Bentonville

The research will look at quantum optimisation for retail, transport and national supply chains. Topics include transport routing, logistics network design, inventory allocation, scheduling and decision making during disruptions. There will also be curriculum development and learning opportunities for students. D-Wave now offers both annealing and gate model systems, after its acquisition of Quantum Circuits earlier this year

Murray Thom, D-Wave's vice president of quantum technology evangelism, said: "Supply chains are highly dynamic, with decision-making that can have a far-reaching impact on efficiency and costs." Brian Fugate, associate dean at Walton College, added: "Quantum computing is showing great potential to help organizations accelerate decision-making, mitigate disruption and drive better operational outcomes." Supply chain optimisation has long been one of D-Wave's main selling points

Logistics is a sensible target. The problems involve enormous numbers of possible combinations, which classical computers handle with clever approximations. D-Wave's annealers are designed for exactly this kind of optimisation. The open question, as always, is whether quantum methods beat the best classical approaches by enough to matter in practice

Is supply chain optimisation the most realistic early use for quantum computers? And how much would better routing and scheduling be worth to big retailers?

D-Wave Partners with University of Arkansas to Establish Quantum Supply Chain Initiative at the Sam M. Walton College of Businesswww.dwavequantum.com