Improved Visibility Technology Now Top Supply Chain Priority, Says New Aberdeen Group Report
9 December 2006
Executives identify improving visibility to order, inventory, and shipment status as a top priority. According to Aberdeen Group research, fully 79% of large enterprises (over US$1 billion in revenue) point to poor supply chain visibility as their top concern for managing their global supply chain operations. Inventory management and domestic transportation executives also point to visibility as a critical performance enabler.
Although companies overwhelmingly desire better transparency to supply chain activity, most companies still have rudimentary levels of visibility, finds Aberdeen's new "Supply Chain Visibility Roadmap Report." Aberdeen's study evaluated visibility technology usage across 524 companies, including best practice case studies from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
"Most companies depend on a hodgepodge of spreadsheets, carrier tracking websites, and homegrown department-centric applications that drain staff productivity and prevent proactive management," says Beth Enslow, Aberdeen Senior Vice President of enterprise research and report author. "Visibility leaders, on the other hand, are deploying visibility software with cross- functional access, and they're achieving better results across key metrics."
The report found that supply chain visibility technology users are:
* 2.4 times as likely to have reduced their inventory levels since 2004
* Three times as likely to have faster order to delivery times
* Twice as likely to have an on-time delivery rate of 95% or higher
A New Visibility Technology Landscape
"Visibility technology is no longer just a stand-alone application," says Enslow. "Companies are finding they can exploit visibility functionality now offered by their logistics service providers, cargo portals, transportation management system vendors, global trade solution providers, and others." The wider availability of visibility technology is making deployment easier and more accessible to large and midsize enterprises. The report identifies ten categories of visibility technology and when each should be considered. It also identifies the top pitfalls to avoid in a visibility project.
Download a complimentary report copy at: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3609
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen(TM) for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte- Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.
Media Contact:
Beth Enslow, Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(519) 883-1430
beth.enslow@aberdeen.com
Source: prnewswire
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