The supply chain snarls and slowdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led many organizations to scrutinize their operations and identify methods to prevent future disruptions. One key approach involves increasing overall supply chain visibility, which gives companies advance insights into potential risks before they become problems while enabling increased optimization and efficiency. As the global supply chain continues to recuperate, the effort companies invest in enhancing their overall supply chain visibility will be critical.
What is Supply Chain Visibility?
Supply chain visibility involves processes and systems to track all the moving parts of a supply chain, giving a company a clearer picture of what is working and what may need some attention. As an example, having enhanced visibility allows a retailer to track products as they move through the chain. Ideally, there should be enough visibility into the supply chain for a company to record and follow the complete trail of parts and materials as they flow in from suppliers, are processed into manufactured products, and sent to distributors and retailers, and ultimately find their way to end-consumers. This level of visibility is important especially as labor shortages and transit delays continue.
Enterprises that enhance their supply chain visibility can enjoy various benefits:
- Mitigate risk and disruptions: Having insight into the supply chain allows a company to see where potential disruptions may arise and get ahead of them.
- Increase resilience: The ability to get in front of any risks and disruptions will build a more resilient supply chain, protecting it even further from potential future disruptions.
- Meet growing consumer demand: Increased consumer demand is a good business problem to have, but it has compounded supply chain headaches. Improved supply chain visibility can help companies forecast demand and determine where to divert resources to meet evolving consumer needs.
How to Achieve Enhanced Supply Chain Visibility
To achieve greater supply chain visibility, companies must develop deep insights into every moving part of their operation. It is important to track and trace shipments from the time they leave the manufacturer, to their arrival at a warehouse or fulfillment center, to the final delivery location. To do that, logistics companies may consider incorporating certain supply chain technologies or partnering with other logistics service providers to help this process run smoothly.
Companies looking to enhance their supply chain visibility can also use recyclable, lightweight iGPS plastic pallets, which incorporate smart features that make them traceable throughout the supply chain. These features allow companies to capture data at any point of distribution, ensuring better planning, efficiency, and helping to lower Total Cost of Business (TCOB).
As supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to make headlines, resiliency practices will remain important to safeguard against future interruptions. Enhancing supply chain visibility practices will allow companies to identify potential risks, monitor them closely, and mitigate them before they can negatively impact the bottom line.
Companies committed to supply chain visibility use iGPS plastic pallets for all their shipping needs. Our lightweight, recyclable plastic pallets incorporate RFID technology making them traceable throughout a supply chain. For more information, contact us at 1-866-557-0047, email a specialist at switch@igps.net, or visit our contact page.
