(EPT.ca) What if there was a solution that could optimize shipping routes in the face of changing conditions, discover new materials, and determine option pricing quickly and accurately? As quantum computing continues to advance and become more available to global markets, it has the potential to offer significant ROI and solutions for supply chain professionals especially.
Quantum computers are particularly adept at running many simultaneous calculations. This is in contrast with classical computers that can run one calculation at a time.
Furthermore, the number of simultaneous calculations grows exponentially. For instance, if a quantum computer can perform a thousand simultaneous calculations, then a quantum computer that is twice as large will be able to perform a million simultaneous calculations.
This capability lends itself particularly well to optimization problems, because optimization is about picking the best option from many alternatives. Generally, the more alternatives you can explore, the better the solution will be. Additionally, because quantum computers explore all these alternatives concurrently, quantum computing could potentially discover the best alternative faster than when a classical computer considers them sequentially. The speed of arriving at the best answer may hold considerable value in reacting quickly to changing market conditions.
Quantum computers need quantum software algorithms to work. Hardware is useless without software, and the problem is that today’s quantum software development is very limiting.
This is where Classiq comes in. Classiq looked at how CPUs and other chips with millions or billions of transistors and logical gates are designed, and applied the same principles to quantum. The user defines a high-level model of what they want the circuit to do similar to a VHDL or Verilog model in electronics. The user also specifies the constraints they care about, just like one would do when programming an FPGA. Our software platform then synthesizes, within seconds, a quantum circuit. This circuit performs what the programmer asked for and meets the constraints.
Classiq says that it can even solve problems in the case of the Suez Canal blockade earlier this year. Through quantum computing, shippers can quickly determine optimal shipping sequences including which route is fastest, which is most cost-effective, which has the least environmental impact, and even how these might change during the day with changing traffic or weather conditions.
Can Quantum Computing Re-Route Our Supply Chain Issues?
