Manufacturers agree: the supply chain is now more global than it was in years past. A survey conducted by supply chain operating network Elemica of 113 suppliers, released last month, found that the majority of respondents found today’s supply chain to be more global than it was just two years ago.
But those respondents also concur that supply chain visibility is an increasingly weak point among suppliers who now operate within an international, digital market.
According to one official surveyed by Elemica, gaining detailed insight into company supply chain is an uphill battle. “My operating committee does not think that it is sexy to invest in B2B solutions, but it is needed,” the respondent said. “Today, it is almost impossible for us to understand the manufacturing status of purchase orders, and have accurate information readily on supply chain visibility of in-transit shipments.”
That response echoes sentiments among today’s suppliers as studies show that supply chain visibility remains a top priority – and a significant challenge. Research conducted by business intelligence and supply chain management networker eyefortransport (eft) found that prioritizing supply chain visibility has significantly increased in the last year for suppliers.
These studies have also come to another conclusion: the influx of data, stemming from the globalization of the supply chain and with the potential to increase supply chain visibility, is actually doing the opposite for many suppliers that do not have the infrastructure and resources to analyze this data.
A separate study released this week, also published by Elemica and authored by Supply Chain Insights, highlights the importance of visibility in the supply chain.
“The performance of an organization today hinges on the effectiveness of flows between and amongst supply chain trading partners,” Supply Chain Insights CEO and co-founder Lora Cecere concluded. “While companies have made improvements in their supply chains, they still lack the ability to use outside-in data to improve channel sensing and reduce risk.”
Both SCI and eft agree that suppliers are “drowning” in data, unable to sort through the trenches to gain insight into their supply chain.
What’s more, the research found companies are not only using outdated tools that are not conducive to data analysis – like fax and spreadsheets – but they also can’t find resources to solve this issue. Among the companies surveyed, Elemica found that some of the greatest gaps between B2B solutions desired by the firms, and the actual performance of these solutions, are within logistics network data and global shipment visibility.
Data seems to be muddling supply chain visibility, but eft found that companies are aware that data could actually help gain valuable insight into their supply chain. Only 15 percent of respondents surveyed said that big data would have little-to-no impact on the supply chain, with the rest agreeing that it would have at least a moderate impact.
“The thing to note here,” eft’s research concluded, “is that respondents’ views seem to be shifting towards the positive in terms of the expected impact of big data on SCM.”
Eft asked those surveyed to choose one area on which big data will weigh the most heavily on supply chain management. Their response: visibility.
With businesses aware that the influx of data could potentially increase supply chain visibility – but unaware of how to unlock that potential – it is no surprise that the supply chain analytics market is expected to burst in just a matter of years.
A new study released by MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global supply chain data analytics industry could be worth $4.8 billion in just four years, representing an annual compound growth rate of 14.6 percent. The current market, MarketsandMarkets found, is worth about $2.4 billion.
The research concurs that the reason for this industry expansion is due to the “massive rise in big data generation across numerous industry verticals.” According to MarketsandMarkets, the emergence of big data, and companies’ ability to acknowledge its importance on their supply chain, has created a rich environment or the market. “This increasing awareness level is significantly pushing the enterprises to deploy comprehensive supply chain analytics solutions for attaining an enhanced level of visibility across the entirety of their complex supply chain,” the study noted.
The age of Big Data is here, and it’s expected to get even bigger. When surveyed by eft, most retailers did not express plans to explore omnichannel capabilities, but 40 percent of manufacturers did – meaning more connections, and more information, for suppliers that will need analysis.
The research also found that 33 percent of companies believe the expansion of the Internet of Things will impact the supply chain because more data will be flowing in, and the demand for better IT and analytics solutions will increase.
More data means suppliers need to quickly invest in tools and services to analyze that information. Doing so, the research suggests, will offer a beneficial window into companies’ supply chains, increasing visibility and strengthening operations. Failing to do so, however, could mean drowning in data.
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