UK taps Altana for AI supply chain platform in GBP £8m deal

Altana has secured a contract to provide its AI-powered supply chain intelligence platform for the United Kingdom government's Global Supply Chain Intelligence Programme.

The contract, valued at GBP £8 million over three years, was awarded by the Department for Business and Trade following a competitive tender process. The engagement will enable several UK government departments, including the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Health and Social Care, NHS Supply Chain, and the Home Office, to access and utilise data-driven insights to inform policy and strengthen national interests in a period of changing global trade dynamics.

Scope and purpose

Under the terms of the engagement, Altana will provide the government with a platform that integrates the government's data holdings with the Altana Product Network. This will present a unified operational picture of UK trade and critical industries within the global supply chain, offering government analysts and policymakers an enhanced view of potential opportunities and risks.

Government departments will be able to utilise Altana's suite of tools, workflows, AI, and insights to monitor and respond to changes in supply chains, inform public policy, and take proactive measures to safeguard national interests. Built from a previous pilot initiated in 2021 with sponsorship from the UK Treasury and the National Security Strategic Investment Fund, the programme uses Altana's analytics to aggregate data that is verifiable, citable, and sourced from a repository designed to support public policy work.

Programme extension

This contract formalises an expansion of previous pilot activities, continuing the work already underway as departments seek greater transparency and awareness of supply chain vulnerabilities. The inclusion of Altana's AI and visualisation tools is intended to improve government visibility of supply chains, identify acute risks, and monitor the movement of companies, products, and shipments in real-time.

The programme enables multiple departments to collaborate on a shared, data-driven understanding of the UK's supply chain environment. It also allows the government to leverage commercial and policy data to strengthen both economic and national security positions.

Recognition and recommendations

The Global Supply Chain Intelligence Programme was acknowledged in a recent report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which described it as a "world-leading capability" and advocated further investment. The report recommended designating the programme as Critical National Infrastructure, underscoring its strategic significance across UK public services.

The platform will operate in a secure, isolated government cloud environment, with Altana responsible for fusing, cleaning, and enriching UK government data with its proprietary global supply chain knowledge graph and AI models. The dataset continually evolves, drawing on data from a global network of businesses, logistics providers, and financial services organisations connected to Altana.

Evan Smith, Altana's Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, highlighted the company's position in supplying data and operational tools designed to assist both technical and non-technical government personnel in informed decision-making.

"The UK GSCIP is a visionary initiative to build supply chain resilience through a common operating picture among UK government agencies and with critical industries in the private sector. It is also a groundbreaking use of Altana's core supply chain data and AI platform capabilities, with both technical and non-technical users across the government working from and building on our Product Network. We're proud to provide the foundation of GSCIP, unlocking economic security, procurement efficiencies, and business resilience for critical industries across the UK."

International integration

Through its integration with the Altana Product Network, the UK government will be able to access and share supply chain analysis not only domestically but also with other allied governments. The same network is used internationally, including by the NATO Supply and Procurement Agency, the Australia Office of Supply Chain Resilience, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, and the US Department of Commerce. By joining this ecosystem, the UK will be in a position to participate in coordinated approaches to supply chain security, enforcement, and policy-making with partners.

Altana's customers include companies in the life sciences, defence, and logistics sectors, as well as public sector organisations, all of which utilise the platform to optimise product lines, monitor national security risks, and develop policy interventions informed by global supply chain data.

The new contract is intended to enhance the government's ability to anticipate and respond to challenges and opportunities within the interconnected supply chains that underpin critical services and industries across the UK.