Web Visibility

Top Priority of Logistics managers:

Information visibility is the top priority to logistics managers across the globe. Visibility on what is happening across the supply chain is the need of the hour in supply chain management. Vendor needs information on order pipelines in order to produce goods in sufficient amount. Logistics partners needs visibility to plan for the logistics activities. Carriers need information on how many trucks or containers needed and when they are needed. Retailer needs information on the stock levels in his warehouse as well as the inbound quantities to have just in time processes and systems. Customer needs information on at what stage the order is now and when it will be delivered. Thus information exchange is the key in supply chain management.

Supply chain and web visibility:

Web Visibility helps all the participants in a supply chain to receive and make use of information whenever they need it. It is like providing a glass-like pipeline of inventory information across the supply chain. Stake holders need to have access to internet only to get these information. Web visibility is generally in the form of reports and online data maps. SLAs, inventory levels, events and others were displayed in the form of reports.

Web visibility can be for real time inventory levels or for historic information. Real time information enables easier planning and execution, reduces information silos, reduces lead time and costs in a supply chain. Usually information flow happens in the reverse direction of supply chain. But in real time web visibility the information exchange happens simultaneously to various stake holders.

Information like order information, production information, product quality tracking, Advanced ASNs planning and delivery becomes simple and easily accessible in case of web visibility. Integration of upstream and downstream systems is essential in order to have quality data which can be used as useful information to plan and execute various activities in the supply chain. 

 

SCEM & Web visibility:

Supply chain event management and web visibility goes hand in hand. Events are triggered when an exception is anticipated or occurred. These events need to be shared to the appropriate stake holders and web visibility enables it. It is more important that how we use these data, infer the information and take appropriate action upon such events. In some cases SCEM and WMS are different applications and in other cases they are integrated in the same suite of application, for example RP WMD and Manhattan’s WMOS.

Web visibility is all about

• What data need to be collected
• When they need to be collected and how to present it in meaningful data sets
• Who need to access those data and what controls needed
• How to infer and act on those data elements