Supply chain operations carry technology burdens most industries never see: connectivity that has to reach yards, docks, trailers, and rural distribution centers where coverage is thin, systems that must talk to hundreds of trading partners through EDI and APIs that were never designed together, and cyber attackers who have learned that freezing a distribution hub creates the same payment pressure as freezing a hospital. Add rising customer demands for real-time tracking, labor shortages pushing automation, copper-dependent alarm and gate systems facing carrier sunset, and fuel and energy costs squeezing margin on every load.