Source Material
A new field of study aims to reveal the complexity and devastation of global supply networks
Underneath the expansive salt flats of Argentina lie some of the world’s largest lithium reserves — at least for now. The brine is pumped at a rate of two million gallons per day into a series of solar evaporation ponds, whose rectangular shapes contrast with the asymmetrical hexagonal ridges that pattern the white crust of the flats. Lithium is a cornerstone of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries found in smartphones, laptops, and electric cars, but the details of its journey from the Atacama region of South America to our electronic devices are murky. To track it requires relentless determination — scouring corporate documents and public registries, coaxing information from company representatives, and slowly building a map of the connections that link producers to processors to manufacturers to retailers.
Our relationship to technology cannot be understood purely in terms of how we make use of it
Over the last several years, a growing number of studies have tried to trace the vast networks of human labor, data, and natural resources that fuel our digital lives. From Kate Crawford and Vladan Joler’s “Anatomy of an AI System” to David Abraham’s The Elements of Power, these investigations cast new light on the exploitative practices masked by the staggering complexity of global supply chains. Academics and journalists have long been interested in chronicling the long and convoluted travels of various commodities, from sugar to T-shirts. But the supply chains of our technologies are even more overwhelming. Apple publishes a list of its top 200 suppliers working out of a total of more than 1,000 facilities. Samsung states that it works with approximately 2,200 suppliers around the world. These suppliers have their own networks of hundreds if not thousands of providers.
This focus on supply chains — or supply studies, as some have called it — is rooted in the knowledge that our relationship to technology cannot be understood purely in terms of how we make use of it. Instead, the approach is premised on investigating the metals, refineries, factories, shipping containers, and warehouses that not only manufacture and deliver our electronics, but also form the infrastructure that organizes our society. Supply studies attempts to distill and make legible these global networks, whose complexity obfuscates the harm they cause. It provides a crucial lens for understanding the real origins, and the real impacts, of our devices.
The interrelated fields of logistics and supply chain management originated in a military context, becoming more important in the late 16th century, when the expansion of Europe’s armies made it difficult to furnish troops with food and supplies while in enemy territory. In the 20th century, logistics began to dictate strategy in earnest, with the massive ammunition demands of industrial warfare necessitating reliable transportation networks and systems.
The parallels between the organizational requirements of militaries and those of corporations did not go unnoticed. From the 1960s to the 1980s, supply chain management emerged as a key consideration for company performance — due in part to more production being outsourced, but also to vast improvements in electronic data gathering and analysis, allowing for more accurate forecasting and scheduling. Today, logistics and supply chain management are respected as specialized areas of focus in business schools. The goal is to optimize the flow and transformation of goods, from raw materials to final products in the hands of users.
Typically, supply chains are discussed from the perspective of those who manage them, framed in terms of boosting efficiency and minimizing disruption. More recently, however, scholars in disciplines like geography, information studies, and media studies have taken up the study of global supply chains from a critical — rather than “how-to” — perspective. If the corporate goal is to build a supply chain so seamless that its existence barely registers with consumers, such researchers seek to turn this process inside out, exposing the human and environmental costs obscured by slick design and packaging, or nebulous concepts like “the cloud.” Media historian Matthew Hockenberry’s supply studies website includes an extensive syllabus showcasing the wide range of work in the field, spanning academic publications (Deborah Cowen’s The Deadly Life of Logistics), investigative journalism (Tim Maughan’s “The Changing Face of Shenzhen, the World’s Gadget Factory”), advocacy efforts (The Enough Project), documentaries (Frank Piasecki Poulsen’s Blood in the Mobile), and simulation games (Molleindustria’s Phone Story)....
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