A Google search for the term “supply chain visibility” brings about 57 100 000 results (that is 57.1 million) in 0.47 seconds highlighting the obsession for this term in the industry for the past several years..
Many visibility platforms have mushroomed in the recent past promising to provide real-time insights into the state of freight, only to crumble away on greater scrutiny, as visibility — although theoretically simple — is practically cumbersome to monitor in real-time..
Visibility could mean different things to different companies and customers, so it is really about understanding what visibility means and sharing the way in which real-time visibility can solve supply chain challenges using real-life cases and not just technological jargon..
Tive, a real-time visibility provider providing customers with 24×7 visibility of shipments undertook a survey of over 250 respondents from the supply chain industry to understand where users stand on the visibility debate..
Respondents included shippers, carriers and freight forwarders including more than 30% from senior management, more than 33% middle management, 17% from operations, and 18% from consultancy among others..
Supply Chain Visibility Report
The survey results have been compiled into a simple and easy to read report which highlights how supply chain visibility has risen in business criticality, with its express need spilling over from the business-to-consumer (B2C) segment into business-to-business (B2B) transactions.
“Clients now expect more cooperation and greater visibility from their vendors, irrespective of their position in the supply chain,” said Krenar Komoni, Founder & CEO of Tive.,
“Real-time visibility has become a true customer service differentiator and no longer a good-to-have,” added Komoni..
The survey done in collaboration with the Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, CHARLIE PESTI, and Shipping and Freight Resource, highlighted a common theme which was user frustration at the lack of real-time visibility and the difficulty in working with clunky, visibility hardware..
The survey showed that 80% of shippers are craving greater supply chain connectivity and visibility, with over half of the respondents of the view that data sharing and collaboration are critical to the health of their supply chain operations..
“Technology adoption in a complicated and highly fragmented logistics industry takes time, and it is encouraging to see companies waking up to the need for real-time or, at least near-time visibility — most often the first step to initiating change,” said Brian Aoaeh, Early-Stage VC at REFASHIOND Ventures..
“In the past couple of years, real-time visibility has become a common phrase in the supply chain world, and it still has a long way to go in achieving its full potential – we’re just getting started,” emphasised Komoni..
