Vikram Dua

CEO, LSIWorld

What is supply chain visibility and why you should not ignore it?

The term supply chain visibility is synonym to the transparency in the supply chain management. With the help of supply chain visibility, the organisation faces fewer complexities, elevated customer satisfaction and better predictability of the on-time shipment. The process of making the supply chain transparent makes it possible for the logistic industry to detect minor problems such as inventory shortfalls or order fulfilment issue before they go on to become a major one. In today’s world of expanding amount of data, processes, technology and industries has given rise to complexities in the logistic world. The reason why having supply chain visibility within an organisation has become important more than ever, yet only 6% of the total firms have full supply chain visibility, according to a survey conducted by Supply Management in SupplyChainBrain.

What is Supply Chain Visibility?

The process of tracking and knowing the whereabouts of the shipment, parts, cargo or products in transit from manufacturer to their final destination is what supply chain visibility comprises of. The supply chain visibility is guided supply chain management technology which provides almost real-time data about logistics. The provided data helps these companies to overcome any shortages or disruptions hampering their productivity. Many a times the process of shipment in a supply chain gets hampered because of unplanned disruptions caused by either natural disasters, transportation failures and delays, cyber attacks, build up inventory and more. Having a transparent supply chain is the only way the companies can shield themselves from such mishaps.

Reasons why Supply Chain Visibility cannot be ignored

With the logistic and supply chain industries going global every passing day, it has become even more important for the organisation to not ignore supply chain visibility. Supply chain is needed to come up with the data which will not only make the function and the execution of managerial planning smooth but also will help in strategical and tactical planning.

1. Reducing the supply chain mishaps

One of the top reasons why companies go through a huge loss or any disruptions is because their supply chain is not transparent enough to take major last-minute decisions during the time of mishaps. The absence of visibility enables the companies to lose their integrity and seldom puts a negative impact on their business ethics. Having no supply chain visibility makes the organisation witness huge losses including loss of productivity, increased cost of human labour, increased cost of working capital, etc.

2. Customer satisfaction

Due to the growth of the industry and the competition in it, the customers are no more resilient towards the late delivery or mediocre services. In this fast-paced world, the customers’ expectations are on a high roll and they demand increased option of products, fast and better service. Due to many alternate options available in the market, the customers will not give switching sides a second thought. In order to keep the customers and meet the rising demand in the market, logistic companies need a better flow of data and information. This helps in providing better service, preventing product errors, thus increasing the trust.

3. Globalisation of Supply Chain Management

With the emerging heights of supply chain in the world, it is safe to say that this industry is spread across multiple nations making it global. With increased number of countries comes a huge sense of responsibility. With increased globalisation of supply chain management across the nation, it becomes very difficult for organisation to keep a track of every order, whether it is reaching its final destination safely and on-time. Due to this complexity and increased demand, it has become important for companies to increase their supply chain visibility.

4. Sustainability of the environment

Sustainable Supply Chain management is a wholistic view of company’s environmental, social and economic impact. Most importantly, it includes the necessary measures taken by your company to lessen it. Usually, supply chain sustainability includes spotting out the source of raw materials, ensuring the workers are working in good conditions and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, supply chain visibility can help in making the world greener too by making educated decisions to limit the carbon footprint. Due to the constant flow of real-time carbon monitoring, the organization can make decision where to put a stoppage.

In this world of technology, we can expect the supply chain becoming even more tech-driven and transparent. This will not only make the experience smoother for both the parties but will also bring a revolutionary change in the logistic world. The supply chain driven by data, technology, AI, IoT will help in improving the business strategies and thus the world will be able to witness what many generations were not able to, i.e., the technical resurrection of the supply chain management.