Almost two thirds of companies put a high priority of improving supply chain visibility, a new survey from the Aberdeen Group has revealed.
The study “Supply chain visibility: a critical strategy to optimise cost and service” found that 63 per cent of 149 companies with predominant global supply chains have ranked supply chain visibility as a high priority for improvement.
That seems a high figure given the fact that supply chain visibility has been on the agenda for years. You might reasonably ask: “Haven’t we learnt how to do this by now?”
Well, up to a point. The report argues that the challenges are changing as supply chains become more complex. “As the number of partners and length of shipments increase, so too does the degree of complex, multi-enterprise interactions and the need for seamless integrated visibility and responsiveness across multiple enterprises.”
Even so, it points out that the top 20 per cent best-in-class companies claim to be compliant to GS1 Standards and track supply chain visibility at the item level.
Nevertheless, even industry leaders much do more to enhance their visibility in a number of areas, the report says. These include product and shipment visibility, transport and logistics events, supply chain finance and intelligence, and enable dynamic collaborative processes.
For many there are important rewards to be reaped – perhaps it’s time to look again at supply chain visibility.
