By all indications we are truly living in the Information Age.
So why do we continue to have supply chain bottlenecks—disruptions in the flow of goods and information at a global level?
Why are many of the technology "solutions" unable to meet the challenges facing those engaged in global trade and transportation? What is required in order to unleash the promise of the digital economy?[]
In search of answers to these questions, ChainLink Research initiated a fact finding mission. The report on this study will be published in January. The replay of the webinar is available now.
What did the research tell us?
Discussions with over 250 executives identified many different challenges, depending on vertical and regional sectors. However, there was a resounding theme:
The business model that current information systems are designed to support has changed!
The enterprise of the present is no longer a single, vertically integrated organization. Globalization, outsourcing, and off-shoring have created an environment where end-to-end supply chains include many players, with a shared need for accurate and timely information.
Past dependencies on direct supply chain partnerships, and working in silos—your little sliver—versus a multi-tier view, are a core problem in today's supply chain.
Leveraging the digital environment of the new age, this should be accessible to all through a neutral interface, ensuring equality through a "single version of the truth" (SVoT).
What Is a SVoT and Why Is It So Important Now?
As more and more activities are performed at an level, it is critical to ensure that both physical operations and information systems operate optimally. This requires a fine tuned level of control, ensuring that activities and functions that have been outsourced across an extended network are monitored and managed. Each of the players, irrespective of role, adds some element of lifecycle data to the movement of product throughout the chain. And this information is becoming increasingly important.
In order to synchronize the flow of goods, cash, and information across the supply chain, each link in the chain of custody should be monitored, recorded, and measured to ensure that constraints and failure points are identified, and that remedial action is taken.
In addition, reliance on channel partners to provide market intelligence won't cut it. They have little to no motivation to provide this data. And many don't have it. Progressive retailers do provide point of sale (POS) information, but this is sales—not market demand—in the true sense of the word.
And then, what will we operate from?
This requires a common view, even a single system of record, where key data is captured and stored concurrently versus sequentially. (See figure 1 below.)
(click here for larger verison)
Information Nirvana—Linking the Chain through the SVoT
A key enabler for a virtual digital enterprise is an open environment for real time information sharing. This should ensure that all participants have access to product, customer, supplier, and other data that forms the fabric of the supply network. Ideally this information technology (IT) environment should enable each participant to access and share rich and real time information related to their specific as well as related activities.
Technology enablers abound; digital networks create a ubiquitous environment in which to share information. Wired and wireless devices ensure the flow of data at a global level. Radio frequency identification (RFID), the hottest technology in small smart auto-identification, is being embraced at a global level. Theoretically, the global economy could be seamlessly connected through the diffusion of data at digital speed.
[1] See detailed list of functional entities, information needs, and data points in Addendum A of this coming research report.
So What Is a SVoT?
At the broadest level, an SVoT is conceptually a virtual data repository (although the actual implementation may be highly distributed). This environment should facilitate a digital workspace through which data related to product, customer, supplier, and trading partners is available to all participants in a timely manner. Achieving time synchronization today means that this work space probably exists outside the firewall of the traditional enterprise.
How Can We Achieve this Vision?
An environment that facilitates an SVoT should support the key processes in the supply chain, ensuring a consistent view across the supply network for all participants, ensuring benefits for all players. For example:
Achieving a true SVoT requires very specific definition—agreed upon standards (global transportation network [GTN], electronic product code [EPC], etc.), and user and functional requirements will vary, depending on the level of process integration within the supply network. The SVoT could also support the growing need to have item and serialized data related to product components, and link to finished goods at the item, package, and pallet level—whatever information might be needed to see the business events and complete an inter-enterprise transaction.
Critical Elements of a SVoT Environment
The right data for this is situation dependent, but our research (get ChainLink Research report for this research) shows that most executives really crave a full set of supply chain operational data—but with critical priorities.
A warning: as RFID and sensors become widely deployed, this will add much more data and algorithms to the portfolio. So keeping from falling behind on today's operations views is critical.
Considerations include:
* Peer-to-peer data synchronization—machine to machine interaction
* Community or trade partner networks—beyond the intimate tango!
* People to people—instant messaging paradigm
* Semantically align—consistency in meaning and interpretation
* Publish/subscribe/event architecture—a way to get at business events as they happen
* Convergence of existing technologies—to include wired, wireless, distributed applications and databases, browsers, and personal digital assistant (PDA) technologies
SVoT—From the Vision to Virtuality
So what did our respondents say about their adoption of RFID and network based applications—and just getting on a collaborative playing field?
There are a series of "hurdles" to widespread adoption that need to be taken into account. (See chart 2 below.)
source
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/single-version-of-the-truth-18346/
So why do we continue to have supply chain bottlenecks—disruptions in the flow of goods and information at a global level?
Why are many of the technology "solutions" unable to meet the challenges facing those engaged in global trade and transportation? What is required in order to unleash the promise of the digital economy?[]
In search of answers to these questions, ChainLink Research initiated a fact finding mission. The report on this study will be published in January. The replay of the webinar is available now.
What did the research tell us?
Discussions with over 250 executives identified many different challenges, depending on vertical and regional sectors. However, there was a resounding theme:
The business model that current information systems are designed to support has changed!
The enterprise of the present is no longer a single, vertically integrated organization. Globalization, outsourcing, and off-shoring have created an environment where end-to-end supply chains include many players, with a shared need for accurate and timely information.
Past dependencies on direct supply chain partnerships, and working in silos—your little sliver—versus a multi-tier view, are a core problem in today's supply chain.
Leveraging the digital environment of the new age, this should be accessible to all through a neutral interface, ensuring equality through a "single version of the truth" (SVoT).
What Is a SVoT and Why Is It So Important Now?
As more and more activities are performed at an level, it is critical to ensure that both physical operations and information systems operate optimally. This requires a fine tuned level of control, ensuring that activities and functions that have been outsourced across an extended network are monitored and managed. Each of the players, irrespective of role, adds some element of lifecycle data to the movement of product throughout the chain. And this information is becoming increasingly important.
In order to synchronize the flow of goods, cash, and information across the supply chain, each link in the chain of custody should be monitored, recorded, and measured to ensure that constraints and failure points are identified, and that remedial action is taken.
In addition, reliance on channel partners to provide market intelligence won't cut it. They have little to no motivation to provide this data. And many don't have it. Progressive retailers do provide point of sale (POS) information, but this is sales—not market demand—in the true sense of the word.
And then, what will we operate from?
This requires a common view, even a single system of record, where key data is captured and stored concurrently versus sequentially. (See figure 1 below.)
(click here for larger verison)
Information Nirvana—Linking the Chain through the SVoT
A key enabler for a virtual digital enterprise is an open environment for real time information sharing. This should ensure that all participants have access to product, customer, supplier, and other data that forms the fabric of the supply network. Ideally this information technology (IT) environment should enable each participant to access and share rich and real time information related to their specific as well as related activities.
Technology enablers abound; digital networks create a ubiquitous environment in which to share information. Wired and wireless devices ensure the flow of data at a global level. Radio frequency identification (RFID), the hottest technology in small smart auto-identification, is being embraced at a global level. Theoretically, the global economy could be seamlessly connected through the diffusion of data at digital speed.
[1] See detailed list of functional entities, information needs, and data points in Addendum A of this coming research report.
So What Is a SVoT?
At the broadest level, an SVoT is conceptually a virtual data repository (although the actual implementation may be highly distributed). This environment should facilitate a digital workspace through which data related to product, customer, supplier, and trading partners is available to all participants in a timely manner. Achieving time synchronization today means that this work space probably exists outside the firewall of the traditional enterprise.
How Can We Achieve this Vision?
An environment that facilitates an SVoT should support the key processes in the supply chain, ensuring a consistent view across the supply network for all participants, ensuring benefits for all players. For example:
Achieving a true SVoT requires very specific definition—agreed upon standards (global transportation network [GTN], electronic product code [EPC], etc.), and user and functional requirements will vary, depending on the level of process integration within the supply network. The SVoT could also support the growing need to have item and serialized data related to product components, and link to finished goods at the item, package, and pallet level—whatever information might be needed to see the business events and complete an inter-enterprise transaction.
Critical Elements of a SVoT Environment
The right data for this is situation dependent, but our research (get ChainLink Research report for this research) shows that most executives really crave a full set of supply chain operational data—but with critical priorities.
A warning: as RFID and sensors become widely deployed, this will add much more data and algorithms to the portfolio. So keeping from falling behind on today's operations views is critical.
Considerations include:
* Peer-to-peer data synchronization—machine to machine interaction
* Community or trade partner networks—beyond the intimate tango!
* People to people—instant messaging paradigm
* Semantically align—consistency in meaning and interpretation
* Publish/subscribe/event architecture—a way to get at business events as they happen
* Convergence of existing technologies—to include wired, wireless, distributed applications and databases, browsers, and personal digital assistant (PDA) technologies
SVoT—From the Vision to Virtuality
So what did our respondents say about their adoption of RFID and network based applications—and just getting on a collaborative playing field?
There are a series of "hurdles" to widespread adoption that need to be taken into account. (See chart 2 below.)
source
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/single-version-of-the-truth-18346/
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