Supply Chain Visibility: Know Sooner, Act Now

Business leaders at all levels expect supply chains to operate on time, and there is little tolerance for anything less, regardless of any disruptions.  In Statistics, there is the axiom that "there is nothing surer than the rare event."

The same hoklds true in a global supply chain - a rare event is a on-going occurance.  The ability to keep a supply chain on time is often determined by the levels of visibility that leaders have into their upstream supply chain, allowing them to alter the outcome of the rare event.

On-going monitoring, adjusting, course correction, and occasional heroics are what keep a plan on track.  None of that is possible without visibility.

Disruption in a Given

Supply Chain disruption comes in many forms.  Figure 1 shows the many types of event-based disruptions that could be termed rare events.  There are other causes of disruption to be sure, such as, government, regulatory, and pricing disruptions, but it's the completely unplanned/unforeseen event that most supply chain leaders try to have a backup plan in place for as an alternative.

Even though they don't know when or where a disruption might happen, supply chain leaders know they must always be thinking one step ahead.