What is supply chain visibility? This is an important question for many businesses looking to improve operations and decision-making. As companies face more challenges globally, understanding visibility can help reduce risks, improve efficiency, and lead to better strategies. This article explains what supply chain visibility is, benefits, challenges and why it is important.
What is supply chain visibility?
Supply chain visibility refers to the ability to track goods as they move through the supply chain, including road freight, sea freight, rail freight and air freight. This provides clear insight into inventory and activities. It helps businesses improve customer service, control costs, and reduce risks by managing inventory in motion, providing timely updates, and addressing disruptions before they occur. This leads to a more efficient and agile supply chain.
Supply chain visibility and analytics work together to provide businesses with a clear view of their supply chain, allowing them to track goods and inventory in real time. By using analytics, companies can better understand their supply chain data, identify trends, predict demand, and optimize operations. This combination helps to improve decision-making, reduce risks, and increase efficiency, ultimately enabling businesses to respond faster to changes, prevent disruptions, and meet customer demands more effectively.
The main goal of supply chain visibility is to gain deeper insights into operations while minimizing risk. By combining this visibility with user data, businesses can optimize their supply chains for maximum efficiency.
What are the key benefits of supply chain visibility?
Improved supply chain visibility brings multiple benefits that enhance operations, increase profitability and reduce risks. With other visibility, business can also lower costs for customers. Here are some of the main benefits with supply chain visibility:
1. Mitigate disruptions
By identifying potential disruptions early, companies can prevent problems. Strong supply chain visibility backed by data analysis and communication helps avoid obstacles and ensures smooth operations.
2. Enable agility
Supply chain visibility allows companies to stay ahead of changes, adjusting quickly to maintain productivity and meet demands, no matter the circumstances.
3. Increase speed
With clear visibility, businesses can make quicker, data-driven decisions. This increases efficiency, accelerates processes, and supports the overall agility of the supply chain.
4. Meet customer demands
Having full supply chain visibility helps companies adapt to the evolving needs of customers, ensuring that supply chains remain responsive and effective in meeting these demands.
5. Data-driven results
Supply chain visibility provides valuable insights from data. When combined with expert analysis, it helps businesses make informed decisions that lead to better outcomes and greater success in their supply chains.
What are the main challenges in achieving supply chain visibility?
What are some challenges with supply chain visibility? It can significantly enhance efficiency and reduce disruptions, but achieving full visibility is not without its challenges. Below are some common obstacles faced by businesses seeking to improve SCV.
1. Sharing information
One of the most significant challenges is the difficulty of sharing accurate and timely data across multiple levels of the supply chain. Without a unified system that allows for seamless data exchange, businesses struggle to maintain visibility. A lack of standardized data formats or inconsistent data across partners can lead to misunderstandings and delays.
2. Supply chain interruptions
Without visibility, companies can lose control of their supply network. The challenge is managing all aspects of the supply chain, especially those that are hard to control. Lack of forward-looking data can lead to overstocking.
3. Data management
Without understanding which data is important, visibility can be less effective. Knowing what to focus on in the supply chain helps make better decisions. If businesses do not have the right tools or processes to manage data effectively, they risk missing key insights. This failure to prioritize critical data exacerbates the lack of visibility in the supply chain. As a result, decision-making is hindered, and the ability to resolve issues quickly is limited.
What is the ability to view all areas up and down the supply chain in real time?
The ability to view all areas up and down the supply chain in real time refers to the capability to monitor and track the movement of goods, materials, and information as they progress through every step of the supply chain. This visibility allows businesses to stay informed about inventory levels, shipments, and potential disruptions, helping them make timely decisions and improve efficiency.
Supply chain visibility across all cargo types
The visibility of each cargo type within the supply chain is critical to ensuring efficiency and managing risks. Different cargo types, including air cargo, sea, road or rail freight, require comprehensive supply chain visibility to ensure efficient management, timely deliveries, and proactive risk mitigation.
By leveraging technology, companies can gain end-to-end visibility for all types of cargo, ensuring timely deliveries, better coordination, and ultimately, improved customer satisfaction.
Unsure which transport solution best fits your needs? Read: “Which transport solution should you choose”.
What provides visibility across inventory levels throughout the entire supply chain?
Visibility across inventory levels throughout the entire supply chain is typically achieved through supply chain management systems. These systems track the movement, status, and location of inventory from raw materials to finished products. By using real-time data, they help manage stock levels and ensure that goods are at the right place at the right time, reducing delays and improving efficiency across the supply chain.
How to improve supply chain visibility
To improve supply chain visibility, the key is improving awareness at every level. Here are three ways to enhance visibility:
1. Use the right technology
Having the right technology ensures that everyone involved in the supply chain can track where things are and quickly address problems. Advanced tools provide real-time insights into the supply chain, helping to identify and resolve inefficiencies.
2. Invest in employee training
Employees should be versatile, capable of handling multiple roles within the supply chain. Specializing too narrowly can limit visibility. By training your team to understand various parts of the supply chain, you ensure that there are no blind spots, and they can respond to issues more effectively.
3. Improve workflow
Strong workflows are essential for making quick and informed decisions. Employees should be able to connect different points in the supply chain, solve problems independently, and keep things running smoothly. Focusing on efficient workflow allows for faster decision-making and better coordination.
How does improved supply chain visibility improve the planning process?
Improved supply chain visibility helps enhance the planning process by providing real-time data about inventory levels, order statuses, and potential disruptions. This allows businesses to make more informed decisions, anticipate issues, and adjust plans proactively. With better visibility, planners can more accurately forecast demand, optimize stock levels, and align resources to meet customer needs efficiently. The result is smoother operations, reduced delays, and improved overall planning accuracy.
Importance of supply chain visibility
Why is supply chain visibility important? It provides crucial insight to improve operations, customer satisfaction, compliance, and growth.
1. Complexity: Global supply chains are complex. Visibility helps prevent logistical issues by fostering trust and transparency with suppliers, ensuring smooth operations and protecting profits.
2. Customers: Supply chain visibility ensures the right products are delivered on time and allows real-time order tracking, meeting customer expectations and commitment.
3. Compliance: Companies can monitor regulatory requirements, ethical practices, and external risks like weather or political events that may disrupt shipments.
4. Competitiveness: Visibility reveals problems, reducing costs and improving overall performance, giving businesses an edge in the market.
Read more about how you calculate shipping costs.
Real-time shipment tracking by Bertling
Bertling provides BLU4U, a robust tracking system designed to give you complete visibility of your supply chain. With BLU4U, you can access real-time updates on shipments, logistics projects, and end-to-end supply chains, all available 24/7. Our platform is customizable and always up-to-date, tailored to meet the specific needs of your ongoing projects.
Looking for greater visibility and control of your supply chain? Learn more about how BLU4U can help you manage your shipments efficiently and effectively.
