The Top Five Strategies for Enhancing Supply Chain Visibility Across Your Supplier Network

Labeling today’s supply chains as complex or intricate is a significant understatement. These sorts of characterizations gesture toward the reality of global manufacturing, but they don’t fully communicate just how sprawling these continent-spanning networks are. Large businesses in industries like automotive, aerospace and defense, and consumer electronics have hundreds of direct suppliers and thousands of sub-tier manufacturers. And while these dense, layered supply chains make sense for the production of highly sophisticated machines like smartphones, laptops, automobiles, and commercial jetliners, their scale and breadth of variables also introduces a plethora of risks. Manufacturers and other companies that depend on large supply chains must be attuned to threats like factory shutdowns, extreme weather events, regulatory violations, cyberattacks, and geopolitical conflict, among other vulnerabilities. 

The Importance of Supply Chain Visibility

As anyone versed in supply chain risk management (SCRM) knows, one of the most powerful ways to mitigate these vulnerabilities and combat the threats that exploit them is through supply chain visibility. Supply chain visibility can be defined as the ability to view all the variables and stakeholders in a given supply chain—including products, parts, suppliers, sub-tier manufacturers, and production sites—in a comprehensive, data-driven fashion. 

Over the past few years, more and more industry leaders have come to recognize the criticality of achieving greater visibility into their value chains. A 2022 survey conducted by McKinsey & Company found that just over half of supply chain professionals were utilizing digital supply chain technologies specifically for the purpose of improving visibility. But obtaining a more detailed, expansive view into manufacturing logistics and supplier networks remains an uphill battle, and 62% of businesses continue to struggle with limited visibility into their supply chains. Fortunately, there are a number of concrete measures companies can take to enhance visibility, ultimately giving them greater control over their strategic partnerships, upstream activities, and the way they handle risks and disruptions. 

Strengthen Your Supply Chain Data

Supply chain visibility may be a concept, but at its core is something far more tangible and specific: data. Whether it’s tracing parts and components back to manufacturing sites, monitoring the flow of goods, or identifying your sub-tier suppliers, illuminating your supply chain is only possible through the continuous acquisition of clean, reliable data. 

Whether it’s tracing parts and components back to manufacturing sites, monitoring the flow of goods, or identifying your sub-tier suppliers, illuminating your supply chain is only possible through the continuous acquisition of clean, reliable data. 

To begin the process of building out supply chain visibility, manufacturers and other firms need to develop a strategy for gathering data on the variables that matter most to them. This will inevitably look different for different companies, but will likely include a few recurring measures.

• Obtaining critical documentation, including transport records, freight bookings, and chain-of-custody documents.
• Pulling together bills of materials (BOMs) and full material declarations (FMDs) to understand all the components and subassemblies in your products.
• Gaining access to databases and other industry platforms to effectively track inventory levels for the commodities and goods integral to your products. 

Strengthening your supply chain data will typically require looking for data from alternative sources beyond suppliers and old-fashioned manual aggregation. To keep up with the sheer amount of data that needs to be processed regularly, ensure its accuracy, and maintain its freshness, companies will need to utilize technology and artificial intelligence in their data collection efforts. This isn’t about abandoning supplier relationships but rather supplementing them with new methods that enable more comprehensive visibility and resilience across the entire supply chain.

Supplementing information from other sources can also help you avoid supplier fatigue by allowing you to contact them only for the most critical needs. Instead of inundating them with multiple emails requesting information that might be accessible elsewhere, you can streamline communication and foster stronger, more cooperative relationships.

Improve Communication With Your Direct Suppliers 

Historically, one of the precious few ways that businesses could obtain any information on their supply chains was by reaching out to their direct suppliers. These data-gathering efforts were generally carried out through surveys, phone calls, or even in person, and they offered one of the clearest paths to deepening visibility into factors like inventories, sub-tier vendors, and regulatory adherence. 

Tools Should Supplement, Not Replace Supplier Relationships

Today, the means to achieving supply chain transparency have evolved significantly. Strategic initiatives now frequently incorporate cutting-edge technologies, including supply chain visibility software and artificial intelligence models. But while these tools can make meaningful contributions to a manufacturer’s efforts, they can’t always replace the value conferred by strong, stable supply chain relationships. Vendors that have close relationships with their customers are more likely to alert them to impending disruptions in a timely, responsible fashion, affording them the bandwidth to make consequential decisions concerning orders, alternative sourcing, and other contingency measures. 

New Environmental & Trade Regulations Require Suppliers You Can Trust

In addition, suppliers that maintain consistent communication with the companies they sell to are incentivized to be more transparent about their internal operations. While this might not have been particularly important three or four decades ago, the raft of new regulations entering into force all over the world makes this specific facet of visibility increasingly essential. Organizations that have greater access to their suppliers will be in a stronger position to gauge their partners’ readiness for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and new requirements imposed by environmental agencies like the EPA. This type of transparency can make suppliers more accountable to their customers, raising the bar for compliance throughout the supply chain. 

There are a slew of proven techniques for fostering better communication with vendors:

• Establish clear communication channels—whether it be through digital platforms, videoconferencing, or weekly calls—and be consistent and active in utilizing those channels. 
• Identify a clear point of contact at the supplier.
• Set clearly defined expectations regarding supply chain transparency and information-sharing from the outset of the relationship. This will dramatically reduce the likelihood of discrepancies, miscommunication, and even conflict further down the road. 
• Hold vendors accountable with performance measures and other data-driven assessments. 

Bolster Supply Chain Resilience Teams

According to any number of credible sources, since the unprecedented upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic corporations have been making a concerted push toward greater supply chain resilience. In a 2021 survey, consulting firm Gartner found that nearly nine out of 10 supply chain professionals were planning on investing in resilience over the subsequent two years. But how firms choose to allocate funds earmarked for supply chain resilience matters. While managers and leadership might be enticed by the array of novel technological solutions promising to create greater transparency, mitigate supply chain risk, and meticulously monitor supply and demand, they shouldn’t overlook the importance of bringing in human talent. 

While managers and leadership might be enticed by the array of novel technological solutions promising to create greater transparency, mitigate supply chain risk, and meticulously monitor supply and demand, they shouldn’t overlook the importance of bringing in human talent. 

Supply chain resilience professionals bring specialized expertise to organizations, including the ability to effectively assess vulnerabilities, implement mitigation measures, and cultivate greater flexibility throughout a firm’s operations. In most cases, these experts rely on a wide breadth of supply chain visibility to execute on these responsibilities, and they possess techniques for obtaining that visibility that may not be accessible to other supply chain professionals. 

By creating roles and building a team dedicated to supply chain resilience, manufacturers are giving themselves access to unique, often irreplaceable value that even the latest technology can’t fully replicate. 

• Going beyond surface-level visibility, supply chain resilience professionals can actually use data and intelligence to evaluate risks and inform strategic decision-making.
• These team members can foster effective cross-departmental collaboration, breaking down silos and consolidating data in a centralized location accessible to everyone. 
• When a significant supply chain disruption strikes and triggers an operational crisis, businesses need individuals who can leverage visibility and carry out targeted contingency measures. Supply chain resilience experts know how to wield data and intelligence in a way that benefits their company when it matters the most. 

Invest in Supply Chain Visibility Software

Strategies like practicing effective communication and empowering seasoned professionals can make a substantive difference for organizations seeking to enhance their field of vision, and it’s worth extolling their virtues. Nevertheless, achieving superlative supply chain visibility all but requires an industry-leading SCRM platform. These tools go far beyond traditional information-gathering techniques, drawing from vast databases and utilizing dedicated research teams to provide their customers with expansive views into their logistics networks. 

Z2Data, for example, offers comprehensive out-of-the-box functionalities to maximize insight and minimize risk. The supply chain visibility software allows companies to trace parts back to their original manufacturing sites, monitor disruptions in real time, and see further into the dense thicket of their sub-tier networks. Further, Z2Data expands the definition of the term “supply chain visibility” by providing customers with extensive assessments of electronic components, including compliance analysis, risk evaluations, and obsolescence forecasting. 

Z2Data expands the definition of the term “supply chain visibility” by providing customers with extensive assessments of electronic components, including compliance analysis, risk evaluations, and obsolescence forecasting. 

With the right SCRM tool, firms can broaden and deepen the way they scrutinize parts and suppliers. 

• Access sophisticated supply chain maps that can serve as the foundation for your visibility operations. 
• Analyze components, parts, and subassemblies on a highly detailed, granular level.
• Understand the unique combination of risks posed by your suppliers with comprehensive profiles that assess financial fundamentals, geographic vulnerabilities, and historical performance. 

Pinpoint Supply Chain “Bermuda Triangles”

The idea of “blindspots” has been well-established in the supply chain management world. These are particular regions or variables that organizations haven’t adequately addressed or prepared for, creating a vulnerability that could be damaging and even destabilizing if a disruption were to occur. A company’s supply chain blindspots might include an emerging trade conflict between two strategically significant countries, unstable labor relations at a specific supplier, or hurricane season in a region crucial to manufacturing operations. 

Less-discussed, however, is what might be referred to as “Bermuda Triangles” in one’s supply chain. These are specific sub-tiers, production sites, or components for which businesses possess zero reliable data (as though any intelligence surrounding that particular touchpoint had simply vanished into thin air).

Less-discussed, however, is what might be referred to as “Bermuda Triangles” in one’s supply chain. These are specific sub-tiers, production sites, or components for which businesses possess zero reliable data (as though any intelligence surrounding that particular touchpoint had simply vanished into thin air).

Manufacturers that are able to identify these risk-laden data voids and address them in a meaningful way can go a long way toward building a more complete picture of their supply chain. Further, recognizing these Bermuda Triangles and taking targeted action to rectify them can be an invaluable method for rooting out the high-level risks quietly threatening a business’s operational continuity. 

• Sub-tier manufacturers with little to no accessible data or identifying information are more likely to be risky entities that are sanctioned by the U.S. or other countries, are out of compliance with critical environmental regulations, or have precarious financials. 
• You can’t replace a risky entity if you don’t know it exists. Identifying anonymous suppliers or tracing specific parts back to unmapped sub-tiers is a critical first step in taking more strategic measures to replace manufacturers that are putting your company at undue risk. 

You can’t replace a risky entity if you don’t know it exists. Identifying anonymous suppliers or tracing specific parts back to unmapped sub-tiers is a critical first step in taking more strategic measures to replace manufacturers that are putting your company at undue risk.

Managing Risk Starts With Enhancing Visibility 

The 2020s have seen a decisive shift in the way companies manage their supply chains. Instead of focusing primarily on cost, efficiency, and just-in-time (JIT) logistics, manufacturers are now coming to recognize the value in directing resources toward mitigating threats and cultivating supply chain resilience. The result is an emerging field, supply chain risk management, that is rapidly swelling into a multibillion dollar industry. In order to deliver substantive results, however, SCRM strategies need to be informed and sustained by superior supply chain visibility. 

But expanding supply chain transparency isn’t an on-off switch. Companies should approach it with patience and diligence, leveraging all the resources at their disposal to help bring parts, suppliers, and sub-tier manufacturers into sharper focus. There are, however, limits to what phone calls, supplier surveys, and even shared databases can achieve. Firms seeking visibility that’s both expansive and granular should investigate the capabilities of a tool like Z2Data. Supply chain visibility software like Z2Data utilize immense databases, proprietary algorithms, and experienced research teams to produce an accurate, effective, and constantly evolving picture of their customers’ supply chain landscape. In the headlong race to achieve revealing, dynamic surveillance across manufacturing networks, these tools are arguably the single-most powerful asset firms can have. 

To learn more about Z2Data and the range of features it offers that enhance supply chain visibility, schedule a free demo with one of our product experts.