Why Prioritize Supply Chain Visibility?

As the supply chain continues to evolve and digitize, real actionability and holistic visibility is more possible than ever before. But, in a recent survey of supply chain stakeholders conducted by Supply Chain Dive’s Brand Studio, only 14% of respondents said they had all the tools they needed to facilitate supply chain visibility. With supply chain visibility significantly impacting operational excellence, profitability, and the customer experience, industry leaders who prioritize visibility will see incredible returns on their investment.

The pandemic helped expose vulnerabilities in the global supply chain ecosystem, causing shortages across sectors, from medical supplies to automobiles. Supply chain management is multi-faceted, and in an increasingly interconnected global economy, supply chain visibility software isn’t just a tool for cutting costs—it’s a means for mitigating risk, preserving one's business, and leveraging partnerships.

Considering all that’s at stake, it’s vital to move away from manual processes that don’t reflect the variability in your supply chain or enable you to manage that complexity by intelligently automating processes. And for those who are further along in their digitization efforts, innovation and evolution requires constantly auditing your technology strategy. For instance, does your visibility solution cover all modes and costs including parcel? How about reverse logistics? If not, a holistic and unified platform will enable you to extend supply chain visibility across the full order lifecycle – including returns – to optimize customer service levels, inventory, and transportation costs for each shipment.