Tips for 20/20 Small Package Supply Chain Visibility

Can't see what's going on in your small package supply chain? Open up your eyes with these helpful steps.

Managing a lean, efficient supply chain today involves plenty of challenges, from optimizing manufacturing schedules and reducing inventory costs to expediting customs, speeding cash flow and improving customer service.

I wouldn't suggest trying it with one arm tied behind your back or with both eyes closed. But that's essentially what you're doing if you try to run a small package supply chain without real visibility into the process.

Greater visibility enables more proactive supply chain management, allowing businesses to improve efficiency, better manage costs and inventory, and enhance customer relationships. In many cases, it allows managers to identify small problems and to correct them before they become big ones.

Information technology investments leading to improved information visibility and adoption of just-in-time (JIT) processes have led to significant supply chain enhancements. Over the past decade, the result has been a 34 percent reduction in the ratio of inventory to sales, a $4.6 trillion reduction in total business inventories and a 10 percent improvement in cash cycle times (Source: U.S. Statistical Abstracts; U.S. Dept. of Commerce; Cass and ProLogics