According to Li, Yan, Wang, and Xia (2013) information visibility are the availability of relevant and accurate information for making supply chain-related decisions. Duckworth (2018) on the other hand defined visibility as easiness of sharing of information in B2B level. Some of the benefits identified in information visibility include making the supply chain more efficient, promote business collaboration, as well enabling them manage operations more efficiently (Duckworth, 2018). Transparency, on the other hand, was defined as easiness of information disclosure between businesses, partners, regulatory bodies, customers and shareholders (Duckworth, 2018). Duckworth (2018) suggested that both visibility and transparency are related such that it is impossible to share data or to be open about if you do not have visibility to such information. Information transparency aids accountability, safety, and quality (Duckworth, 2018).
DeAngelis (2019) agrees with Duckworth (2018) and suggested that transparency and visibility serve to improve company’s reputation and avoid bad image. DeAngelis (2019) also suggested that inadequacy in transparency and supply chain information visibility may lead to extra expenses and never-ending trouble with government bodies. Therefore, having transparent and visible supply chain information is essential in giving business a good name and be on the safe side with regulators. Low visibility makes supply chain less flexible and thus prone to high disruption (Mayor, 2019). Low visibility and transparency attract regulation risks. The regulator needs to understand how the products are produced and supplied and in case of low visibility, problem such as slave labor is likely to occur (Duckworth, 2018). Therefore, low visibility and transparency are likely to subject a company to excessive scrutiny and thus result in bad reputation and hardship in doing business (Duckworth, 2018). Poor visibility and transparency may also lead to excessive or too low inventory risks. Transparency and visibility enable the company to have adequate information to make better demand forecast and thus adequate production (Hill, n.d.). loss of customers is another risk of low visibility and transparency. According to Duckworth (2018) customers passing for transparency and they are even willing to pay more for products with high visibility and transparent supply chain. Therefore, companies that have low visibility and less transparent supply chain are highly likely to lose market share to companies with good supply chain ethics.
barriers to information visibility and transparency
one of the barriers to information viability and transparency is unclear expectations (Cesario, 2017). According to Cesario (2017) transparency and visibility are industrial-wide aspects that need shared responsibility for them to work. However, getting every player in supply chain to work together is never easy unless there is a clear expectation that collects and guides all the stakeholders. For example, due to garment factories' safety concerns in Bangladesh, over 200 companies signed Bangladesh safety accord to make garment factories safer (Cesario, 2017). Cesario (2017) also noted that there is lack of resources devoted to supplying chain information transparency and visibility. Having tracking systems or use of third parties mean to assess supply chain transparency, and visibility7 occasionally is a very expensive endeavor. The economic situation and customers' need for affordable products is another barrier to transparency. Usually, a product that has been made with better practices that supports transparency and visibility of supply chain will be expensive. However, only a small percentage of consumers are concerned with ethically processed and supplied products (Cesario, 2017). therefore, ensuring transparency and visibility of supply chain information may not translate to betters' earnings for the company. According to Khurana, Mishra, and Singh (2011) inadequate finance to assist in maintenance of transparency and visibility system was the greatest barrier that companies faced while implementing transparency and visibility. Lack of adequate personnel to implemented and maintain information transparency and visibility system was also among the major barrier affecting supply chain. According to Khurana, Mishra, and Singh (2011) the cost of hiring and training manpower under information technology sector to assist with information transparency and visibility is very high. Khurana, Mishra, and Singh (2011) also found that top management is always in comfort zone and they are usually less willing to facilitate implementation of information transparency and visibility systems.
How GE can improve supply chain transparency and visibility
According to McKevitt (2017) GE transportation and port of Los Angeles launched a visibility pilot to improve accessibility and improve the safety of shippers. GE did not stop there to improves its supply chain visibility; it went ahead to work with project44 startup to optimize data sharing across intermodal supply chain. Despite good processes in place, GE still has several areas of consideration so that they can further improve visibility and transparency. According to Schiffres (2018) a company needs to continuously adapt new technology that will improve the acquisition of information, analysis, and sharing. Therefore, for proper visibility, GE needs Realtime visibility that is characterized by accurate data and speed (Schiffres, 2018). Despite technology, policies need to come first. Policies should reflect the goals of GE and the reputation to seeks to have. These policies should be enforced to all stakeholders to ensure that everyone reads on the same pages when it comes to visibility and transparency. There is also a great opportunity to engage and collaborate.; without engaging and collaboration, it is impossible to get right information and within required time. To ensure visibility and transparency, GE also needs to set governance body that enforces the policies set to manage supply chain to promote visibility and transparency (Kozeal, 2019). GE also needs to have audit system as well as checks and balances metrics, which will be sued to ensure that policies set are working and they are performing the intended purposes (Kozeal, 2019). The use of modern technology is also the best way to protect the information from landing on the hands of unauthorized people. Modern technology has advanced to the level that they utilize advanced security measures such as blockchain. Blockchain offers heavy-duty encryption to protect the data (Tapscott, 2017).
Conclusion
It is evident that there can never be supply chain transparency without visibility. To have information visibility in the supply chain, one need to collaborate with all stakeholders. Information transparency and visibility in supply chain are essential in reducing risks such as loss of ethical consumers, trouble with regulators, bad image and supply chain disruption. GE is on the right track in ensuring that it has high level of supply chain transparency and visibility. However, it needs to set policies to guide its path and also utilize ever-improving technology to be ahead in ensuring visible and transparent supply chain.
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References
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Khurana, M., Mishra, P., & Singh, A. (2011). Barriers to Information Sharing in Supply Chain of Manufacturing Industries. International Journal Of Manufacturing Systems, 1(1), 9-29. doi: 10.3923/ijmsaj.2011.9.29
Kozeal, M. (2019). Four Solutions to Achieving a More Transparent Supply Chain. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://www.supplychainbrain.com/blogs/1-think-tank/post/29935-solutions-to-achieve-a-more-transparent-supply-chain
Li, G., Yan, H., Wang, S., & Xia, Y. (2013). Comparative analysis on value of information sharing in supply chains. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 10(1), 34-46. doi: 10.1108/13598540510578360
Mayor, T. (2019). Low visibility, high supply chain risk. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2016/05/global-manufacturing-outlook-low-visibility-high-supply-chain-risk.html
McKevitt, J. (2017). GE, Port of Los Angeles launch supply chain visibility pilot program. Retrieved 7 November 2019, from https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/ge-port-of-la-share-digitized-data-pilot-program-2017/442985/
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