Blockchain is the basis for crypto-currency and tracking some financial transactions. Its potential uses promise to radically transform industries. -By Karen White

After Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta’s vision to build the metaverse, there was some skepticism that such a vision would become a reality in the near future. It is an expensive vision of an alternate virtual existence for people enabled by integrating multiple technologies, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). When people point to its slow adoption, Zuckerberg has said the metaverse is a long-term commitment. However, it is not the first time that naysayers have said a tech vision is unrealistic. Think back to the days when the predictions were that people would one day carry a computer in their hand, and many could not look past the computers that filled whole desktops. The metaverse is slowly emerging, allowing the tech industry to make good on its supplier diversity goals by including innovative minority and women-owned businesses in the development of the metaverse and its usage opportunities across industries.

Welcome to Web3 and the Metaverse

The metaverse is considered a strategic technology, and its concept is not easy to describe or understand. Looking to the professionals to define the complex technologies in easy-to-understand language, Gartner describes the metaverse as a “collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality…A metaverse is not device-dependent, nor owned by a single vendor. It is an independent virtual economy, enabled by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As a combinatorial innovation, metaverses require multiple technologies and trends to function. Contributing trends include virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), flexible work styles, head-mounted displays (HMDs), an AR cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and spatial computing.”

Gartner lists four technology innovations that support the metaverse. First is Web3, a stack of technologies that enable decentralized web applications, enabling users to control their identity and data. The metaverse and Web3 are complementary technologies in a community where value is exchanged between organizations or people. Second, there is spatial computing, a three-tiered technology stack that allows users to experience the intersection of the physical and digital worlds.

Third, the digital twin of a person (DToP) mirrors a person who can be present in more than one place simultaneously in the physical and digital spaces. The fourth innovation is the digital twin of a customer (DToC), a dynamic virtual representation of a customer that stimulates, emulates, and anticipates behaviors. Customers can be people, personas, or machines.

Transforming Supply Chains with Metaverse

The metaverse holds great promise for transforming supply chains, according to Renato Scaff, Chief Operating Officer, Accenture, North America, due to four application trends. One is that it will enable people to come together regardless of location. For example, corporate teams could virtually walk through key ports to identify potential shipping delays. Secondly, programmable products “know” their location and inventory status, and would trigger automatic replenishing and make routing decisions. Third, artificial intelligence will utilize “perfect data” from synthetic content, eliminating the need for historical data for accurate forecasting. Fourth, the limits of computing power are addressed. With computing capacity enormously increased and the ability of the metaverse to “bend the time and space continuum,” businesses could view the entire supply chain network to improve the balance of supply and demand.

There is enormous potential to utilize the metaverse to increase diverse supplier opportunities, and not just through continuing contributions to innovation. For example, a virtual copy of a procurement director could meet with virtual copies of suppliers to discuss an RFP. A retailer could meet with suppliers in a metaverse collaboration room, to discuss inventory needs and sales forecasting. A virtual procurement team could walk suppliers through virtual manufacturing plants (customers), and no one has to leave their place of business. Businesses can span the world with unimaginable speed to find and meet with diverse business owners. Suppliers can meet and do business with customers and collaborate with other suppliers without worrying about travel time, costs, or other concerns associated with attending meetings.

Metaverse in the Real World

Meta’s 2022 Diversity Report addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion in the metaverse, where space is shared three-dimensionally. Inclusivity was built into the metaverse at the development stage, and it is inclusive teams who are building the technologies for the virtual universe. Approximately 75% of Meta teams are working together from different locations. The Supplier Diversity program is rapidly expanding, with annual spend with diverse suppliers at $1.26 billion in 2021, which includes $306 million spent with Black-owned businesses.

Though the metaverse and Web3 technologies are still nascent and experiencing slow adoption, they are also in use. TechTarget described the focus of metaverse investors and named ten use cases of the metaverse. Metaverse investors are investing in five categories at this stage: technology platforms, chip manufacturers, software, gaming platforms, and exchange-traded funds. A Statista survey reported that 39% named its ability to enable users to overcome obstacles as the best benefit of the metaverse. Though disability is mentioned, the metaverse could also help diverse businesses overcome barriers to breaking into the corporate supply chains. After the equalizing benefit, the people surveyed named the next benefits as creativity and imagination enhancement, and the ability to travel without moving.

TechTarget’s ten use cases of the metaverse are in entertainment, such as Ariana Grande holding a concert series in the Fortnite game; business operations where operations workers can use the technology to guide complex fieldwork; education and training; enhanced customer experiences; work meetings; advertising, branding, and marketing; sale of digital assets; a more connected virtual work experience; industrial uses; and other uses still unknown. Siemens, the German engineering firm, is combining its Xcelerator open digital business platform and partner ecosystem with Nvidia’s Omniverse with “the goal of driving the use of digital twins to deliver process improvements.” Metamarket research reports that auto companies such as Ford and General Motors use the metaverse to design cars and provide immersive experiences to users. In February 2022m, Cupra (Volkswagen) announced Metahype, a collaborative space for brands, startups, and creators that can be used for events. In January 2022, Unity Technologies and Hyundai Motor Company said it planned to use a digital twin setup in Hyundai factories to increase process time and reduce operational errors through testing in simulated environments.

Early Stage Development Means Unlimited Opportunities

The metaverse has the potential to be the technology that improves inclusiveness in the workforce and supply chains. For diverse businesses, the metaverse offers opportunities to find new uses, innovate, and develop corporate partnerships. The virtual sky is the limit!