THE SEE-THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN END-TO-END VISIBILITY
Geopolitical events also make visibility mission-critical, as it enables companies to map suppliers and spot instances where a sudden tariff hike or regional disruption could affect them, says Adhish Luitel, principal analyst with global technology intelligence rm ABI Research. Real-time tracking and intelligence can provide the agility needed to help rms quickly pivot sourcing or shipping plans when trade policies change or political events disrupt logistics, he adds. Tariffs are particularly troublesome because they can impact all transportation modes simultaneously. Visibility can help companies identify options, such as redesigning products to shift away from materials impacted by tariffs, so they can maintain service and quality while reining in costs. “This is hard to do if you don’t know where your goods are,” says Eric Fullerton, vice president, product marketing with project 44, which offers a supply chain platform. The growing number of regulatory mandates also prompts interest in visibility. VISIBILITY FOR ALL Carriers also bene t from greater visibility. “They need to know where goods are so they can optimize routes
Supply chain platforms like this one from project 44 may o er AI agents who can provide real-
time data that leads to greater visibility.
and planning,” says Rusty Redecker, vice president, sales, global logistics, with Avery Dennison. The current emphasis on visibility and resilience is a shift from about 20 years ago, when “best of breed” was a more common approach to supply chain planning, notes Mike Raftery, director, digital supply chain solutions with McKinsey. Companies would stitch together multiple systems and software to arrive at a plan that ostensibly provided the most value. This worked fairly well, given the stability in the market at the time. Companies could work with a single supplier to save a few cents here and
there, Raftery says. Companies focused on squeezing costs rather than agility. From about 2020 on, however, the need to quickly manage disruptions became paramount. Many companies’ priorities shifted to responsiveness and agility. Visibility is necessary for supply chain professionals to identify challenges, make intelligent decisions about addressing them, and then implement their plans. “Detect, decide, and act,” says Vikash Goyal, vice president of supply chain planning and collaboration strategy with Oracle. If visibility tools identify an ongoing lane closure that impacts inventory in transit, for instance, an organization may decide to search for a new supplier that is not impacted by the closure. Among the technologies that can facilitate visibility is sensor technology. A sensor fusion model—one that combines data from multiple sensors to provide a more complete, accurate representation of the environment or system being monitored—can include barcodes, RFID and/or LTE (Long Term Evolution, a wireless broadband standard), among other technologies. RFID is widely adopted for tracking and identi cation, and increasingly integrated into AI. One RFID reader can read multiple tags, making it possible to account for products quickly, easily, and accurately. That means more accurate and timely information for AI and
Top 15 Supply chain Trends Among key logistics decision makers, supply chain visibility ranks as the top trend, identied as having the most relevance to their operations.
Supply Chain Visibility Internet of Things
86% 85%
Supply Chain Diversication Financial Resilience in Logistics Digital Transformation Cybersecurity Last-Mile Delivery Innovations Ecommerce Circular Economy Articial Intelligence Decarbonization Autonomous Robotics Vehicle Electrication Alternative to Fossil Fuel Smart Po rt
78%
76%
68%
64%
61%
48%
43%
38%
33%
24%
17%
14%
Source: Maersk survey
12%
140 Inbound Logistics • July 2025
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