The Internet of Animals offers lessons for supply chain management

What if your supply chain could predict disruptions the same way animals anticipate storms, food shortages, or even earthquakes? The Internet of Animals (IoA), a concept originally developed in ecology and biology, could be a key to a new frontier in operations and supply chain management (OSCM). While the business world has long leveraged digital transformation, such as artificial intelligence (AI), IoT, blockchain and other cutting-edge technologies, nature has been perfecting real-time sensing, adaptation, and resilience for millions of years. It's time for OSCM to take notes.

Animals as predictive supply chain models? Absolutely!

Some animals, like birds, can astutely adapt their flight paths and behaviors in response to changes like atmospheric and other climate alterations, providing early indicators of regional weather conditions. Similarly, goats have been observed to sense seismic activity hours before an earthquake. Also, seabirds’ migration patterns can help predict fish stocks, offering valuable insights for resource management in fisheries. If these natural behaviors can be harnessed through AI and sensor-driven tracking, businesses can gain unprecedented foresight into environmental disruptions, resource availability, and risk management strategies. Thus, imagine applying this biological early warning system to humanitarian logistics, disaster response, and regenerative supply chains. IoA isn’t just about observing wildlife, it’s about translating nature’s intelligence into actionable insights for supply chains.

Regenerative supply chains: Learning from nature’s playbook

Beyond predictive analytics, IoA can inspire regenerative supply chain models. Consider bats, which contribute to forest regeneration by spreading seeds across vast distances. Could supply chains adopt similar strategies to rebuild resources, restore ecosystems, and enhance circular economy initiatives? Studying how animals optimize food storage, protect their networks, and respond to environmental stressors can lead to more resilient, sustainable, and adaptive supply chain designs.

From ecology to industry: A data revolution in the making

Technologies like GPS tracking, blockchain, and AI already enable real-time animal behavior monitoring. Platforms such as ICARUS and Movebank provide public and private datasets that can be leveraged by industries far beyond wildlife research. With AI-driven analytics, OSCM can transform these massive biological data streams into predictive models for logistics, risk mitigation, and operational efficiency.

What’s next? Unlocking a new research and business agenda

Despite its potential, IoA remains largely unexplored in supply chain and operations management. This is a missed opportunity. By embracing IoA, businesses can:

• Enhance risk management by leveraging real-time behavioral data from nature.
• Develop smarter predictive analytics for weather-related disruptions, supply shortages, and emergency responses.
• Redefine sustainability strategies through biomimetic approaches to logistics and inventory management.
• Optimize resource allocation by studying natural food and material sourcing behaviors.

In a nutshell, this isn’t just an academic exercise, it’s an urgent call for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to rethink how supply chains operate in an increasingly uncertain world. Nature has been optimizing survival strategies for millions of years. It’s time for businesses to take advantage of its lessons.

About the author

Dr. Maciel M. Queiroz is an associate professor of operations and supply chain management at FGV EAESP, Brazil. His research focuses on artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the metaverse in business and supply chains. You can contact him at [email protected]  

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