For the automotive industry, gone are the days of locally manufactured cars. In the global marketplace, to stay competitive as a car brand means outsourcing parts and materials from around the world and even assembling different parts in different countries from where the car will actually be sold. This process describing a long supply chain that gathers resources and car parts in different stages of production from around the world is becoming the standard that the automotive industry manufactures its products.
Supply Chain Visibility
Supply Chain Visibility is the ability to track down component parts from the manufacturer to the final destination. The process of turning raw materials into a finished product is one that unavoidably involves many third-parties. That is the reason the process is called a supply chain. Visibility is the process that aims to improve the supply chain by making data readily available to stakeholders. This is no easy feat because a lengthy and convoluted supply chain involves many third parties which makes the lines of communication complicated if not positively convoluted.
Supply Chain Visibility is now quite important because many brands and companies are outsourcing parts of their supply chain that they used to make themselves. This means that they have lost control and visibility over what used to be part of their operations. SCV is a way to gain back some control over the supply process.
Supply Chain Visibility Technology
The rise in computer technology has advanced beyond the cargo and transport systems currently in place. Revolutionary computing methods such as cloud systems on the internet that can handle the great amount of data needed to keep track of supply chains around the world are now in great demand since supply chain visibility software can solve the problems faced by brands and companies in keeping track of supply deliveries from around the world. A great SCV software can map all of a company’s suppliers. Not only that, but it can also even geographically locate suppliers down to their zip code, city, and country.
Supply chain visibility software is what connects inter-company departments and different companies with one another. This field is undergoing a revolution of development in order to fill in the needs of supply chain management which translates into forming a bridge for a great deal of data coming from around the world.
Supply chain visibility technology can help companies identify where all the components which they need in their assembly factories are produced. It also allows decision-makers the information they need to make quick responses to change by taking actions towards reshaping demand or redirecting supply. Because of the opportunities that they can create for global businesses, supply chain visibility technology is growing to fill the demand.
Benefits of Supply Chain Visibility
With the advent of business becoming global the benefits of supply chain visibility begin with transparency between partners, stakeholders, manufacturers, and suppliers. Instead of becoming bogged down by confusion caused by too many and unclear lines of communication, everybody involved in the supply chain can receive reports of just where orders and shipments are in real-time.
Beyond the transparency which Supply Chain Visibility offers, it also has a real effect on a company’s bottom line. By increasing access to data, more information is shared with stakeholders and decision-makers which improves the ability to plan, avoid unnecessary costs, and increase efficiency.
Blind Spots in Supply Chain Visibility
A fully integrated web of information about the current status of supply chains is the future of global business including the automotive industry. It does sound too good to be true and at the current level of technological development and systems in place it still is. The fact is that at present, supply chain visibility still has blind spots. This is because not all places or companies are making use of technology. Simply put, while others are ahead of the game, full transparency is not possible until everybody catches up in using supply chain visibility software to stay connected and updated.
The software is continuously being developed to cope with the amount of data needed to keep track of supply shipments as they move around the world. However, this does not mean that all companies in the supply chain are already making use of it. When all partners in the supply chain are on the same page then the blind spots will disappear and complete transparency would have been achieved.
Supply chain visibility is a work in progress that improves the manufacturing process of many companies in the automotive industry. Even so, having transparency and visibility in the supply chain is revolutionary for global business companies, specifically those in the automotive industry.
