Supply chains have long been somewhat mysterious networks — even mysterious to some of the largest companies relying on them. Now, there is an increasing push —driven by both business necessity and government pressure — to open up these essential networks.

A report by Ana Swanson in The New York Times asks an intriguing question: where, exactly, do products within global supply chains come from? DNA testing, combined with artificial intelligence and blockchain, is helping decision-makers to better understand how these complex webs work.

Technology is finally helping to provide transparency to and validate the origins of products, and how they’re getting from point A to point B and beyond. No matter what your job is, or what your company does, you are part of a massive network of supply chains. Many of these supply chains are under stress previously never experienced before.