Downtime: Effect on revenue streams across the supply chain

This article is authored by Dhruvil Sanghvi, CEO & founder, LogiNext.

In today's supply chain economy, digital continuity is no longer just a technical requirement. It has fast emerged as a core business asset. Despite this, many companies, unwittingly enough, still underestimate the financial and operational risks associated with system downtime. The consequences are quite serious as they lead to unwanted disruptions across logistics networks. This, in turn, can pose a threat to any painstakingly-crafted customer relationships and damage the hard work of many years and ultimately sacrifice millions in lost revenue.

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The global logistics industry now operates on highly interconnected systems. Behind every successful delivery are platforms that include transportation management systems, warehouse management software, route optimization tools, mobile delivery applications, and real-time tracking interfaces. These technologies have transformed efficiency and responsiveness across the value chain. However, they have also introduced a significant point of vulnerability: The reliability of the underlying digital infrastructure.

While system outages may not always make public headlines, their business impact is undeniable. In 2017, Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, experienced a cyberattack that brought its systems to a halt within minutes. According to some estimates, the overall damage exceeded $300 million. Global ports had to resort to manual operations, and the recovery required a full reset of terminal infrastructure across multiple continents.

In a separate case, supply chain software provider Blue Yonder also faced multi-day outages in 2021 and again in 2025. These disruptions affected even big-league retailers such as Kroger, Walmart, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola as their logistics teams faced delays in dispatches and inventory replenishment. Intriguingly, operations were forced back to spreadsheets and even, manual tracking. Analysts estimate the cumulative impact crossed $200 million, particularly during periods of tight capacity and high demand.

These incidents highlight a critical truth. Downtime is not a back-office issue but a direct threat to business performance.

In large-scale logistics environments, every hour of unplanned downtime can cost anywhere from $300,000 to a whopping $1 million. Beyond the immediate financial loss, the ripple effects are substantial too. A major USPS sorting hub experienced a software failure in 2022 that caused thousands of parcels to remain undelivered or be returned. The agency reportedly incurred more than $10 million in penalties and additional manpower costs during peak season.

In another instance, a third-party logistics provider in Southeast Asia lost a long-term contract worth $15 million annually. The reason was not poor performance by the operations team, but repeated failures in its mobile delivery platform during periods of high volume.

Despite the increasing reliance on technology, many logistics organisations still do not track platform reliability as a core metric. Businesses often focus on other aspects like fleet efficiency, delivery accuracy, fuel costs, and sustainability metrics. However, they rarely include infrastructure uptime or mobile application stability in executive dashboards.

This oversight exists because reliable systems tend to fade into the background. Their role becomes visible only when they fail or falter. As logistics becomes more digitised, that invisibility turns into a strategic risk. Downtime can directly affect everything from last-mile fulfillment to service level agreements and brand reputation.

Some technology providers have begun to recognise that infrastructure stability must be a business priority. One example is LogiNext, now restructured as Stellation Inc. The company has focused heavily on system resilience and performance. Rather than bolting Artificial Intelligence (AI) onto existing systems, it embedded it into the core architecture from the outset.

Over the past two years, the platform has maintained an uptime of 99.99% and a crash-free rate of 99.6%. These figures reflect not only technical excellence but also a commitment to operational continuity. The platform supports container-based rollouts, self-healing infrastructure, and AI-assisted fault management that enables mission-critical operations to continue uninterrupted even under stress.

As supply chains grow increasingly sophisticated with the infusion of robotics, automation, and real-time analytics, the dependability of supporting platforms will prove a competitive advantage. In an industry where delays translate to direct losses, the ability to maintain stable operations is no longer optional but imperative.

Companies must begin to treat platform uptime as a board-level concern. That means embedding reliability into procurement frameworks, conducting regular infrastructure reviews, and investing in technology that is engineered for resilience.

It is quite possible that the next disruption in logistics may not come from geopolitical shifts or physical bottlenecks. Rather, it may emanate from the failure of a single platform. Businesses that prepare for this reality will not only avoid such needless losses but also position themselves better for long-term leadership in a high-stakes environment.

This article is authored by Dhruvil Sanghvi, CEO & founder, LogiNext.