We have to understand that world population is growing exponentially. But earth resources are not. They are dwindling. We will have to be very imaginative and creative to avoid wars between well-off countries and not so well-off countries if we want to be able to feed and give breathing space and air to every individual on earth. So either we reinforce our country defenses and prepare to fight wars or we think that world government is the solution.

In the first case (nationalism) we will build walls to protect our frontiers. In the second case (globalization) we will either collaborate on making the world an adequate place to live (seems nice but this is the most difficult path to travel) or one country will build an empire and the emperor (or the communist party) will rule the world.

More and more countries are taking the first path. Two of them are taking the latter. Only the European Union and a few other countries are trying to promote the middle view. All the others have other problems.

So to answer your question. Supplies are getting rarer and rarer and more and more difficult to access. The supply chains are extending and require polishing. That is they should consume as few ressources as possible to distribute the ressources they provide. The name for this is optimization. We need supply chain engineers in addition to supply chain managers.

Technology will bring us savings. Not so much in the form of hardware, except for cameras and computers, but mainly in software, the packaging of intelligence. Software to drive our trucks, software to optmize our routes, software to optimize the way we control our factories and our stocks.

Globalization and Technology are the future of smart supply chains. It is hopefully our future rather than nationalism and war.