Improved Information Connectivity and Visibility throughout the Global Supply Base

Introduction

Globalization and global supply chain operation, and supply chain visibility have become buzzwords for organizations in recent years. Customers demand more data concerning shipping, especially as businesses attempt to move toward just-in-time inventory management or to incorporate lean philosophies into their firms’ practices. Unfortunately, one part of the global supply chain that hasn’t kept pace with these increasing demands is the shipping function¹.

This lack of data, or lack of information visibility, is a problem for many firms who trade with multiple supply chain partners in multiple locations. Many of these companies lack the information technology infrastructure necessary to collect the information from partners. Hence, visibility should be one of the greatest benefits to emerge from supply chain event management (SCEM). Concurring with this, Marabotti (2002, pp. 2-3) notes that event management has the potential to yield huge payoffs within a short time frame, especially for those organizations needing to

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  Monitor large numbers of markets, channels, customers, suppliers and products

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  Support new product launches

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  Track key performance indicators, and

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  Balance supply and demand.

This paper explores one firm’s efforts to integrate its supply chain and share information among global supply chain partners. We first review the literature concerning information sharing and its benefits. We then turn to the experiences of this particular organization, describing its attempt to link systems with the systems of its suppliers. We conclude with a discussion of its successes and failures and lessons learned.