Supply Chain Visibility Solutions

Visibility and transparency is crucial to managing your supply chain efficiently. Without visibility, you won’t have the information you need to make important decisions and keep your supply chain working effectively. 

Modern supply chains have several moving parts, which can make it difficult to get a comprehensive picture of your end-to-end operations. However, modern technology has made it easier to see how your entire supply chain is performing, from your suppliers to deliveries all the way to your end consumer. 

IoT technology means that organizations can track the exact location of their shipments to avoid late or missed deliveries. At Unilog, clients can access our Logivice software to see exactly where products are. Analytics have made it easier to predict supply and demand and adjust supply chain strategies accordingly. In this article, we’ll talk about why supply chain visibility is so important, as well as visibility solutions to use. 

What is supply chain visibility?

Supply chain visibility is the ability to track a product throughout the entire supply chain. For your supply chain to be truly visible, you’ll need to be able to track products from their raw material state through manufacturing and storage all the way to the final delivery. Visibility also means being able to view order statuses and financial data across the organization. 

Supply chain visibility is typically made possible via IoT technology, which uses sensors or tags to track the location of products. Visibility is also reliant on transparency between all stakeholders and participants in the supply chain. Each party will need to share information readily and communicate frequently to avoid confusion. 

Why is supply chain visibility important? 

Visibility throughout the supply chain is important for a variety of reasons. When your organization has full supply chain visibility, you’ll be able to identify and even prevent potential disruptions throughout your supply chain. By tracking your products, you’ll be able to make sure that shipments go out on time to avoid missed or late deliveries. The entire supply chain will also move faster, as visibility often facilitates better communication between relevant parties in the supply chain. 

Additionally, supply chain visibility gives you important insights into the efficiency of your operations. Visibility software programs often have an analytics component that displays data from your entire supply chain. You can use this information to make necessary changes to your operations to keep things running efficiently and affordably. 

Improving your supply chain visibility can also improve your company’s reputation. Other companies are more likely to partner with you if you have an efficient supply chain management system, and customers are more likely to order from companies with an on-time delivery rate. When you implement software programs to maximize your visibility, you’ll have the data to back up your track record. 

Visibility also benefits workers across the supply chain. The wealth of data and automation available make it easier for your team to locate shipments and solve problems. This creates a good working experience overall, increasing employee satisfaction and retention at various points in the supply chain. 

Finally, supply chain visibility can save your organization money. By minimizing late and missing shipments, you’ll save money on product replacements and shipping fees. Additionally, you can use insights from across your supply chain to reduce expenses and maximize value. 

Improving Supply Chain Visibility

Without a thoughtful and effective supply chain strategy, you can end up with disorganized or siloed data. If you’re currently struggling with supply chain visibility, here are steps you can take to improve the flow of information across the supply chain. 

Choose A Visibility Solution

To maximize your visibility, you’ll need to leverage modern technology across your supply chain. To do this, you’ll need to choose a visibility software solution. This should be something you can implement across your supply chain and can integrate with other technologies you’re using. 

At Unilog, our clients have access to our Logivice software, where they can see inventory and order data and track shipments from end-to-end. The software is cloud-based, which means that it consistently collects and aggregates data. 

It’s important to stay up-to-date on supply chain technology, as systems can change and evolve over time. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your supply chain in order to implement new technology. Although this may require you to make changes up front, implementing new technology has a strong return on investment. 

Improve Communication To Break Down Data Silos

Data silos are one of the biggest challenges when it comes to supply chain visibility. Oftentimes organizations will collect important pieces of supply chain data, but that data will only be available to people within certain departments, leaving out key stakeholders. 

In order to make your supply chain fully visible, you’ll need to open up communication and share important pieces of data. Ideally, relevant staff members across your organization will have access to this data, as will supply chain partners. Of course, you’ll still need to keep your data secure, which is why clear communication and well-defined processes are so important. 

Map and Analyze Supply Chain Data

Collecting data on its own isn’t enough to build true visibility across your supply chain. You’ll need to find ways to appropriately map and analyze this data. This means setting goals for your supply chain and using the data to find potential low and high points. Data visualization strategies can also help you make insights into the data. Data should be analyzed across both the short-term and long-term when making decisions.

Supply chain visibility is more important now than ever as the world deals with raw material shortages, labor shortages, and other supply chain challenges. Visibility gives organizations the power to manage global operations with ease. 

If you’re struggling to stay on top of your supply chain, Unilog can help. Our comprehensive supply chain solutions will help you stay on top of your shipments to keep your inventory organized and your on-time delivery rates high. Our Logivice software provides supply chain visibility and insights. Contact us today to learn more about our services.