Supply chain visibility: A Delphi study on managerial perspectives and priorities
Journal article, 2022

Visibility across supply chains has been a key concern for organisations for many years, but the tools and information systems to achieve real-time visibility have not been available until recently. In response to uncertainty and complexity, advanced information and communication technologies have been explored for supply chain visibility (SCV). However, managerial perspectives are largely absent from the current literature. In response, this paper systematically documents managerial factors influencing SCV and information that should be collected and shared among supply chain partners for better visibility. A multi-stage Delphi analysis was conducted with 26 supply chain experts from various globally recognised enterprises with manufacturing units located worldwide. The results provide details on prioritised managerial perspectives and experiences within (1) factors affecting SCV (drivers, enablers, challenges and contingencies), (2) SCV content (supplier, internal and customer information) and (3) implications of SCV (capabilities and performance effects). One observation was that forecasting is not deemed as important due to severe disruptions in supply chains. Real-time visibility for better predictability emerged as the top priority. This study is among the few that empirically explores factors influencing supply chain visibility and generates new insights into why barriers can be difficult to overcome in complex supply chain settings.

Delphi study

digitalisation

supply chain

exploratory study

visibility

Author

Tarun Agrawal

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Ravi Kalaiarasana

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Jan Olhager

Lund University

Magnus Wiktorsson

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

International Journal of Production Research

0020-7543 (ISSN) 1366-588X (eISSN)

Vol. 62 8 2927-2942

LOVIS - Production Logistics Visibility

VINNOVA (2019-00782), 2019-03-01 -- 2022-11-30.

Subject Categories

Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics

Other Mechanical Engineering

Transport Systems and Logistics

Economics and Business

Business Administration

Areas of Advance

Transport

Production

DOI

10.1080/00207543.2022.2098873

More information

Latest update

4/26/2024