One of the big challenges in optimizing the supply chain is the sheer mass of data and the time it takes to come up with a better solution.  For example, rerouting trucks around a traffic jam without causing congestion somewhere else takes 45 minutes for a relatively small 10,000 vehicles in a city like Beijing. Help may be on its way – quantum computing, which may be readily available in 8 years, can solve the problem in a fraction of a second.  While Einstein described quantum as “spooky,” IBM and others are working in this area to get speed breakthroughs.