In our "now" economy, consumers demand real-time visibility, along with the near-immediate delivery of goods. This has created a great deal of supply chain disruption, causing businesses to reevaluate the way they operate. Gary Allen, vice president of supply chain excellence at Ryder, provides tips on how to achieve end-to-end visibility, and ultimately ensure a more efficient supply chain.
1. Start with the experience. Begin by defining what visibility means to your end users/customers, what kind of experience you want them to have, and what you want to gain from increased visibility.
2. Select a platform for connectivity. Your digital platform should connect key players. This means ensuring the platform is technologically agnostic and all intended parties can easily access it.
3. Attract the right talent. New technology enables both new processes and new talent. Recruit people who are analytically inclined and highly skilled at interpreting data.
4. Manage and standardize data. Having a clear data strategy is imperative. Cleansing and defining consistent data models allows you to consistently utilize and translate the data into meaningful information.
5. Trust the information. It’s critical to believe the data. You must trust the information, its security, and the entities you exchange information with. Find ways to confirm confidentiality and ensure security around the financial exchange of information.
6. Interpret and leverage figures. You can’t find ways to improve until you know what problems to solve. Data allows you to proactively manage exceptions before they occur, saving your business time and money while keeping customers happy.
7. Drive efficient decision-making. Once you discover opportunities for improvement, you have to respond to those needs. Now that you know where everything is across your supply chain, you can execute solutions.
8. Focus on real-time transparency. The frequency and size of data exchange is dramatically increasing at an accelerated rate. Being able to leverage this data in real time is imperative. The key enablers consist of understanding what data is most critical to solving key business problems, what it means, and what to do when exceptions occur.
9. Opt for a neutral integration platform. The ability to flex up or down, quickly adjust, and accelerate the development of new capabilities requires an Enterprise Integration Platform. This allows companies to easily integrate, regardless of the execution systems in play.
10. Develop an extended ecosystem. Assuming you can develop and own all these capabilities offers a false sense of security. Today’s new digital environment requires a collaborative approach to managing your supply chain. Developing an extended ecosystem that brings the best of all your partners’ capabilities into a single environment is vital.
FAQs
The easiest way to do this is to start by mapping out all of your suppliers. Then, analyze how each one delivers its products or resources to your business and/or customers. Once you know how your products get made and delivered, you'll have an easier time giving customers visibility into your supply chain.
What is supply chain visibility in logistics? ›
Supply chain visibility is the ability to track different goods and/or products in transit, giving a clear view of the inventory and activity. It enables shippers to improve customer service and cost controls through management of inventory in motion, proactive status updates, limiting disruptions and risk mitigation.
What is the importance of inbound logistics in supply chain? ›
By managing inbound logistics effectively, businesses can reduce costs, improve efficiency, increase competitiveness, enhance supply chain visibility, and ensure the quality of their products.
What is supply chain transparency or visibility and how can it help with logistics decisions? ›
Supply chain visibility is the business's ability to see into operations at every tier of its supply chain, and to enable its supply chain stakeholders to share with each other all relevant information, including: Daily production activities. QC inspection reports. Corrective and preventive actions.
What is the key aspect of supply chain visibility? ›
The 4 key elements to achieve high supply chain visibility include a single source of truth for the operational data, immediate alerts to identify supply issues, historical data to facilitate improvement & forecast, and simulation of alternative plans to see the next best actions.
What is an example of supply chain visibility? ›
Supply chain visibility works on two levels: low and high visibility environments. For example, in a logistics providing company, one generally plans for shipment. But sometimes a power disruption at the client's factory might cause a delay in their shipment, affecting the logistics company.
Why is visibility important in logistics? ›
Within the logistics supply chain, visibility is very important as it underpins excellent customer service and enables companies to drive cost out of supply chains by, for example, anticipating and avoiding operational disruptions.
What is the primary focus of supply chain visibility? ›
The primary goal of supply chain visibility is to increase the understanding of how your supply chain is functioning at every stage. SCV helps you reduce risks and optimize operations to improve your product quality and compliance, reduce disruptions, and increase efficiency and profits.
What are the visibility challenges in supply chain? ›
Lack of real-time data on supply chain operations. Poor communication between supply chain stakeholders. Unauthorized subcontracting and/or raw material sourcing.
What is the main objective of inbound logistics? ›
Inbound logistics are all about moving raw materials, supplies, or finished goods into a supply chain. Through inbound logistics, a business secures its supply — that is, it obtains the products (or the materials to make the products) that it will eventually sell.
For a furniture manufacturer, inbound logistics would mean managing the arrival of raw materials or semi-finished products such as wood, paint, nuts, screws, bolts etc. For an Amazon Fulfillment centre, on the other hand, inbound logistics would mean managing receiving, quality check, storage etc. of finished goods.
What is an example of inbound logistics? ›
An example of inbound logistics involves receiving inventory into a warehouse straight from the manufacturer where it must be unloaded, checked and placed into the warehouse management system.
What is information visibility and its impact in a supply chain? ›
The way in which a company approaches that data and supply chain visibility can provide insights into the entire supply chain process. It can track products from manufacture to delivery, monitor stock levels, analyze supplier performance and more.
What is supply chain end to end visibility? ›
Definition & Significance. End-to-end visibility refers to the ability of all supply chain stakeholders to access and view real-time data and insights about the status and location of their products—from source to final destination.
How can you improve a business's visibility? ›
5 ways to improve your business's visibility online
- Take time to track everything. ...
- Content marketing is key. ...
- Keep a close eye on competitors. ...
- Leverage paid advertising. ...
- Align your marketing to business goals.
Key Points for Improving Supply Chain Visibility
Collaborate with Partners: Foster collaboration and transparency with suppliers, logistics providers, and other partners in the supply chain by sharing data, insights, and performance metrics. Establishing trust and communication channels is key to improving visibility.
How can product visibility be improved? ›
Eye-catching displays: Create visually appealing displays that draw customers' attention. Use attractive signage, banners, and lighting to highlight your products. Consider using props, mannequins, or product demos to showcase your items in action.
How do you increase project visibility? ›
Ways to increase visibility in a project
- Customize your project dashboard according to your team's specific needs.
- Create a thorough project charter and scope statement.
- Give regular project status reports.
- Use collaborative software for proofing and approvals.
- Allow clients to have access to project management tools.
