Quantum computing firm D-Wave has partnered with the University of Arkansas to establish a quantum supply chain initiative.

D-Wave will work with the Supply Chain Management Research Center (SCMRC) in the university’s Sam M. Walton College of Business to research quantum computing applications for supply chain challenges across retail, transportation, and national defense.

The company has also joined the partnership program of the SCMRC, which consists of more than 25 industry partners at present.

In a statement, D-Wave said that as supply chain networks become increasingly complex and disruptions become more consequential, “quantum and hybrid-quantum computing approaches are emerging to complement established methods.”

The collaboration will also explore “foundational and applied research in quantum optimization” for a number of supply chain use cases, including transportation routing, logistics network design, inventory and resource allocation, scheduling, and decision-making under disruption, D-Wave added.

“Supply chains are highly dynamic, with decision-making that can have a far-reaching impact on efficiency and costs,” said Murray Thom, VP of quantum technology evangelism at D-Wave. “We’re seeing quantum computing technologies emerge as potentially powerful alternatives to existing classical approaches. The Walton College is at the forefront of supply chain innovation, not only educating the next generation of supply chain professionals and conducting groundbreaking research, but also engaging industry to effect economic change. We’re thrilled to support the College as it facilitates a quantum-ready supply chain.”