Is Supply Chain Visibility a Feature or Product?

Is supply chain visibility a product or feature?

I first raised this question in an April 2022 Talking Logistics post, and I revisited this topic yesterday because of an announcement made by FourKites last week. The company announced that “it is withdrawing from the Gartner Real-time Transportation Visibility Platform (RTTVP) Magic Quadrant evaluation process, citing the need to prioritize breakthrough AI innovations using RTTVP that are fundamentally reshaping supply chain operations.”?

Do real-time transportation visibility solutions provide enough unique value to remain a standalone product or should they be acquired and integrated into broader supply chain platforms??

I shared my perspective in yesterday’s Talking Logistics post, “The Future (Or End) Of Supply Chain Visibility.” After reading it, post a comment and share your perspective on this topic. Our Indago members will be sharing their perspectives in this week’s survey and they will receive the results next week.

Going back to December 2022, we conducted a survey with our Indago supply chain research community titled, “Unlocking Full Benefits of Supply Chain Visibility.” At the time, only 5% of the respondents said they were more than halfway along in achieving full end-to-end-supply chain visibility; 23% said they were about a quarter of the way there and 27% said they were still in the early stages. Indago members can download the report for all the results.

Also, more than two-thirds of the respondents (68%) said that “We still lack visibility to important nodes in our supply chain” was a “Very Large” or “Large” obstacle to achieving the full benefits of supply chain visibility.

“Across the board, it is very difficult to obtain visibility as a small to medium-sized business given the costs of onboarding visibility-type solutions,” said one Indago supply chain executive. “Our biggest dark spots are upstream in our supply chain (e.g., our vendors' vendors) as well as with intermodal locations/links within the logistics chain (i.e., ports, rail terminals, drayage yards).”

Another executive commented, “I’m not convinced it’s possible to obtain financial benefits with visibility; the costs to [achieve end-to-end supply chain visibility] is extremely high, not [only for] the technology but also for the human processes and monitoring that is still needed. I’m not taking into account all the implementation costs and resistance from users to support it.”

(Regarding the quote above, in response to the costs associated with "the human processes and monitoring that is still needed," visibility vendors are now touting AI-powered automation as the solution.)

So, is supply chain visibility a product or feature? Which side of the debate are you on?

The Road to 1,000 Indago Members

This month marks 6 years since we launched Indago. Our goal is to reach 1,000 members by the end of 2025 -- and to break the $30,000 mark in charity donations since we launched.

Why join Indago? Here’s how a couple of our members answered that question:

“Joining Indago has been great. On a monthly basis I complete an easy, 5 minute survey about important topics in Supply Chain (I often complete the survey on my smartphone). I find value in completing the survey; it gives me a reason to spend a moment defining my perspective on strategic topics. In return, I am able to see the results of the survey and the perspectives of my peers. On a few occasions, I’ve reconsidered my position based on what the community suggests, and other times, I’m happy to see the validation of my views (especially on topics that have been overhyped in the trade journals). Because the surveys are anonymous, it’s a risk free way to engage the Supply Chain community and get quick, honest feedback." -- VP of Operations, Food & Beverage Company

“I decided to join Indago for two reasons. One is to be part of a group that provides real time feedback from companies on topics in the supply chain world. The second reason is that Indago supports charities that make the world a better place. It’s a great one - two combination!” -- Director of Freight & Warehousing, $1B+ Food & Beverage Company

So, what are you waiting for? Find out what you’ve been missing and join Indago today!

If you're a supply chain or logistics practitioner from a MANUFACTURING, RETAIL, or DISTRIBUTION company and you’re interested in learning from your peers, I encourage you to learn more about Indago and join our research community. It is confidential, there is no cost to join and the time commitment is minimal (2-4 minutes per week) — plus your participation will help support charitable causes like Breakthrough T1D, American Logistics Aid Network, American Cancer Society, Feeding America, and Make-A-Wish.