Rapid changes in demand and growing suppliers’ risks have made end-to-end supply chain visibility crucial for companies nowadays. To gain a clearer understanding of this concept, it is necessary to distinguish between strategic, tactical and operational visibility and between the long-term and short-term horizon. Supply Chain Media has developed this practical matrix containing specific functionality details for the associated information systems.
Companies continue to find supply chain visibility hugely challenging. Only 6% of businesses believe that they have end-to-end supply chain visibility – i.e. an overview of the whole chain – according to a global study conducted by logistics service provider Geodis in 2017. 70% of those surveyed describe their supply chain as very complex or extremely complex, which explains why companies feel they lack end-to-end visibility.