One lesson to be learned in light of the recent media scandal involving some large supermarkets and global food companies, is the need for greater transparency in supply chains; it has become increasingly evident that an organisation will need to demonstrate their awareness of what goes on in their business beyond their own four walls and collaborate more with their partners to avoid any potential problems which could damage the organisations reputation.
Customers are becoming more sophisticated and their need to ensure the health and safety of themselves and their families often drives the demand for transparency and the details about the systems and sources that deliver our goods.
Gradually, corporations have begun to open up and report on more of their supply chain information, although this has typically been a slow transition due to a concern of whether this would create unnecessary inquisition and a loss of faith of loyal consumers.
Thanks to new, advanced technologies it is more manageable for companies to become integrated and implement processes to enable them to adjust quickly to changes. The supply chain organization should include managers from all sectors including manufacturing, and logistics, through to marketing and sales, ethics and compliance. To maintain ?exibility and avoid supply chain disruptions, companies must also demand open access to their suppliers’ facilities and business practices.
How long this demand for transparency will continue is unknown, but whilst it will require additional effort to build in manageable processes, the resulting transparency will lead to actionable information which can lead to reduced costs and risks and new opportunities to improve and become more competitive than before.