Importance of Supply Chain Visibility

The meaning of supply chain visibility can differ from person to person. It can be payment status tracking or order status tracking or inventory visibility or delivery vehicle position visibility or for someone, it can be to integrate data. However, many times in each instance getting data is not the only solution, getting relevant consolidated information at the right time is essential. At the current global scenario, supply chain visibility can be well defined as tracking of product from a source of production to a destination of delivery.

According to a study,

> 70% of firms consider their supply chain as very or extremely complex  
> Supply chain visibility is the 3rd greatest strategic priority
> Almost 75% used 5 different transportation mode in their supply chain
> Ensuring on-time, in-full delivery is the primary goal of respondents
> 41% of respondents say data analysis is the next big thing

With rising complexity in the supply chain (companies going global with resources scattered across different cities at different countries and companies using different modes for transportation and shipping), having a high supply chain visibility definitely ease the process and reduce the complexity with improvement in accuracy.

Benefits of supply chain visibility:

> For each stakeholder, visibility can play an important and different role:
– For a supplier, visibility can provide information regarding the backlog of orders so suppliers can plan production and inventory management accordingly. It also helps them to maintain a high level of customer service.
– For a carrier, visibility can provide real-time updates regarding incoming shipments which are required to be loaded. Carriers can provide status updates on goods delivery.
– For customers, visibility can provide delivery status, real-time updates, arrival status, etc so that customer can act according. It also helps a customer to have an on-time distribution center with an improvement in inventory turnover and reduction in goods cost.

> Automatic event error alerts:
In the above collaboration between stakeholders, an electronic invoice will be generated which transforms accordingly system configuration and validation of data will happen in the system. An automatic alert will be sent to relevant stakeholders if any error occurs during the process.

> Data backed decisions and planning:
Due to the collaboration of each stakeholder in the above situation, each stakeholder can plan their future plans, get real-time alerts and make last-minute adjustment according to a situation. In each process, changes can be done ahead in time according to any deviation. Ultimately, each stakeholder will have easily accessible relevant information and it improves the supply chain processes. Each stakeholder can make data-backed decisions due to all the important information they will be getting.

> Reduce Inefficiency and cost:
Due to supply chain visibility, you will know the causes of inefficiency and your weaknesses and accordingly act upon them to get success. Because of transparency generated, it helps to reduce risk and minimize unnecessary cost. With the help of supply chain visibility, you can standardize supply chain processes and get better workflow which can improve efficiency and reduce cost.

Reasons for poor supply chain visibility:

> Lack of an efficient system to filter all data to get relevant useful information
> Correct Integration does not present between all stakeholders at every level
> Inconsistent data flow across different stakeholders
> Limited amount of insights due to tracking technology constraint
> Lack of automation and manual collaboration leads to inefficiency

How to get high supply chain visibility:

> Adopting new best trends and technologies- Company management willingness to adopt new upcoming trends should be there. Companies should be adopting new technology in the supply chain for improving efficiency and visibility.

> Training employees to improve their capabilities- Employees should be trained with respect to technological advances happening in the supply chain industry. Employees should understand and know how to use new technologies which improves efficiency and productivity.

> Focus on processes- Strong workflow processes help in taking informed decisions at short time without effecting the visibility and productivity. Employees require connecting the dots and should being capable of solving problems independently and making decisions with confidence.

Modern customers expect more nowadays with respect to product delivery, customer service, tracking, etc as compare to earlier times. And there are so many logistics service providers present in the market however to get a competitive edge, a company requires to provide more transparency, efficient flow of data and more which are possible with high supply chain visibility. Also, it is not possible to analyze data and do quality analysis without supply chain visibility.

20Cube Logistics is a new age end to end logistics service provider and have a collaboration platform called “MyHub”. With “MyHub” you will get the end to end visibility, real-time alerts, automated vendor compliance, manage by exceptions, transparent billing, online documents, inventory monitoring and more. Know More.

Complete visibility with transparency will increase productivity, reduce inefficiencies, better data backed decision making and more. So, a company focusing on supply chain visibility will get a competitive edge and a positive reputation over competitors.