While visibility into modern global and complicated supply chains leads to fewer disruptions, greater customer satisfaction, and lower costs. A supply chain visibility (SCV) project empowers supply chain teams to identify and correct weak points before they turn into large issues, like inventory shortages or delivery issues.

Sounds great, right? However, getting effective end-to-end insights has become more challenging for businesses than expected. In this article, we will see why that is and how to address common roadblocks. First, let's understand the term better.

What Is Supply Chain Visibility (SCV)?

Supply Chain Visibility (or SCV) refers to real-time tracking, monitoring, and reporting on every supply chain aspect within supply chain management. It is the capability to trace specific parts, finished products, and sub-assemblies from supplier to manufacturer to the customer in real-time. The scope can vary from product to product — for example, are raw materials included, or do the returns require close monitoring?

Today’s digital supply chains enable supply chain visibility to gain real-time insights into logistics and other aspects of the supply chain. This allows businesses to identify and correct business-damaging issues like inventory shortages, production bottlenecks, and regulatory concerns and monitor solutions from origin to shipping on-the-go. Access to accurate, real-time supply chain data facilitates better planning, risk reduction, and improved decision-making across all levels of supply chain management.

SCV could mean visibility within a company’s operational borders or throughout a partner network. The former is less challenging (if not impossible) because the company manages access to relevant data sources. Tracking a product from a factory in China, through a U.S. assembly plant, to a wholesale distributor, and finally to the customer or retailer is complex, requiring seamless integration of multiple partner systems.

Why Is Real-Time Tracking Important for Supply Chain Visibility?

‍

Supply chain visibility is not just a buzzword, it’s a fundamental enabler for several key business outcomes. It is the base on which multiple capabilities can be developed which provide direct business benefits, such as:

1. Improved Decision Making

Visibility throughout the whole supply chain allows businesses to get actionable insights in real time. Eventually, this data becomes actionable when fed into predictive models, which can guide resource allocation, inventory management, and demand forecasting.

With such visibility, companies can reduce guesswork and damage control time and make much more informed choices that boost short-term operations and long-term strategy.

2. Increased Agility and Flexibility

In the last 4-5 years, we have seen ample cases to say that supply chains are vulnerable to disruptions. These disruptions can come from any side: natural disasters, geopolitical events, or market volatility.

Supply chain visibility allows businesses to sense risks earlier and faster and respond more effectively. For instance, if a supplier experiences a delay, businesses can reroute their logistics or find alternative suppliers before the disruption impacts customers.

3. Enhanced Customer Experience ‍

SCV can help address many customer expectations and concerns, whether they need timely and frequent updates about their orders or a change request.

Supply chain visibility helps businesses satisfy consumer demands for quick, transparent, and reliable delivery of goods. Companies can provide precise customer updates while cultivating loyalty and trust with visibility throughout several levels of the supply chain — from stock levels to shipment tracking & delivery schedules. Better visibility leads to improved efficiency and reduced risks, which ultimately boosts customer satisfaction.

4. Cost Optimization ‍

Supply chain visibility helps identify inefficiencies, such as overstocking or underutilized assets. By understanding the weak spots, companies can streamline operations, reduce waste, and reduce costs associated with warehousing, transportation, and labor.

Moreover, visibility enables better collaboration with suppliers, which can lead to negotiated discounts and more cost-effective procurement strategies. Improved inventory tracking allows shippers to improve customer service through proactive updates and risk mitigation, ultimately leading to a stronger and more agile supply chain.

5. Compliance and Sustainability

In many industries, especially those with stringent regulatory requirements, supply chain visibility helps ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and ethical standards.

Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) ensures tight adherence to these regulations for companies in sectors like food, pharmaceuticals, or medical devices, reducing the risk of costly penalties or reputational damage.

‍

The Building Blocks of Supply Chain Visibility

‍

To build the supply chain visibility capability, it is necessary to add building blocks one by one. Each building block adds to the visibility and helps improve the responsiveness of the supply chain:

1. Build End-to-End Data Integrations

The foundation for SCV is integrated data flows. These flows should run end-to-end from suppliers to plants to warehouses to clients. This entails breaking down silos within the organization and between partners. Different supply chain Systems, including ERP, Planning, & Scheduling systems (like APO, TMS, WMS, OMP, Kinaxis, o9, and IBP), along with other supply chain systems, must be integrated for data sharing.

Here are the 3 things to keep in mind when building end-to-end supply chain integrations:

Invest in cloud-based platforms that facilitate real-time data integration across different stakeholders.
Standardize data formats across the supply chain for easier communication and automation.
Implement API-driven solutions that connect various systems (internal and external), ensuring continuous data flow.

2. Create Real-Time Data Ingestion

The next building block of supply chain visibility is real-time information ingestion. This is required as the supply chain visibility is of no use if the data in the system is stale. Data points like tracking details of goods or vehicles, current inventory levels at the warehouse, or production output are some examples. For this, companies can use barcode scanners, IoT sensors, GPS tracking, and RFID tags throughout the supply chain. Real-time monitoring provides a bird’s-eye view of the supply chain’s moving parts, allowing for swift corrective actions if needed. Additionally, historical data can be used for predictive analytics to forecast future trends and prevent potential issues.

Here are the 3 things to keep in mind for the real-time information setup:

Leverage devices (scanners, IoT devices, RFID) to pick the data from the source in real-time. Track goods movement across the whole supply chain.
Integrate the information from these devices into your supply chain systems, such as planning systems, TMS, ECC, or WMS.
Set up event-based alerts for potential issues or delays at the source and to the downstream supply chain teams.
‍

3. Build Predictive Analytics and AI Layer

Once the real-time data layer is built and starts flowing across the integration layers, the next step is to maximize the potential of this virtual supply chain gold mine. Supply chain visibility isn’t just about seeing what’s happening now but also about predicting what could happen in the near future. With the help of machine learning, predictive analytics, and AI, businesses can anticipate trends, demand shifts, or supply chain risks. Predictive models can simulate various what-if scenarios, helping planners adjust their procurement, production, and logistics strategies in real time. Understanding sales trends is crucial in these predictive models to adapt inventory management and marketing strategies effectively.

Here are the 3 things to keep in mind for the analytics and AI setup:

Build AI-driven forecasting models to predict demand and drive downstream planning accordingly.
Use predictive analytics for risk management and mitigation. Flag potential disruptions and start contingency plans.
Adopt AI that can continuously assess the impact of a particular event on the other parts of supply chain and build a long-term response matrix repository.
‍

4. Build & Share Visibility with other Supply Chain Partners

True visibility entails not just alignment internally but also an equal priority to collaboration with external partners—suppliers, logistics providers, and customers. Collaborative platforms that allow real-time data sharing helping everyone get timely information on what to expect from the other supply chain partner, complete the supply chain visibility for the business. This unlocks long-term value and partnership for all stakeholders. Effective fleet management plays a critical role in optimizing transportation processes and improving overall operational efficiency in delivering goods.

Here are the 3 things that can be considered for building a successful collaboration capability:

Build or invest in supplier portals where partners can access shared information, such as order status, forecasts, and inventory levels.
Develop customer-facing platforms that provide real-time order tracking and updates, enhancing the customer experience.
Create an end-to-end alert mechanism that can help other stakeholders in case of an unplanned event. For example, in case of a demand spike from the customer, the supplier should be alerted of the upcoming increase in the PO quantity.

Build a game-changing supply chain visibility for your Businesses with Holocene

Building supply chain visibility into operation is a journey. The value of this journey is proven by the competitive edge that the company gains towards its end, unlocking long-term value and sustained growth. And implementing SCV doesn't have to be overwhelming. With the right technology, partners, and strategy, you can also unlock immense value and future-proof your business.

We at Holocene provide innovative supply chain visibility solutions. Our solutions link people, data and processes - offering you the clarity and understanding you need to achieve profitable growth.

Contact us today to understand how Holocene can be your partner in your supply chain visibility journey.

‍