Beyond the Box Episode 3: Visibility in supply chains

Summary

在物流和供应链行业中，“可见性”是一个热门词汇，它指的是从供应链的一端到另一端的实时监控。本集《超越盒子》节目深入探讨了可见性的重要性，并邀请专家讨论如何提升可见性。据研究，只有6%的企业拥有端到端的供应链可见性，而这种可见性对于应对如疫情和俄乌战争等重大问题至关重要。节目中，Accenture的全球供应链创新领导者Maria Ray Marston强调，可见性是构建弹性供应链的第一步，而弹性供应链是企业生存的关键。此外，节目还提到了物联网、大数据和人工智能等技术在提升供应链可见性方面的潜力，以及数字化供应链解决方案如何帮助企业更有效地规划和沟通。

Takeaways

• 📈 **端到端可见性的重要性**：在整个供应链中实现尽可能接近实时的可见性对于企业至关重要，这有助于提高运营效率和客户满意度。
• 🚢 **导航与供应链**：船长需要了解航行的每一个环节，同样，供应链管理也需要对所有阶段有清晰的认识。
• 📊 **数据和研究**：研究表明，提高供应链可见性的企业在面对供应链中断时遇到的挑战较少。
• 💡 **技术进步**：物联网、高级分析和人工智能等技术的发展，为实现供应链的实时跟踪和监控提供了可能。
• 🔗 **数据集成**：通过API集成数据可以促进不同系统之间的无缝通信，提高供应链的透明度和信任。
• 🌐 **云平台和区块链**：这些技术提供了安全和去中心化的数据存储及共享，增强了供应链合作伙伴之间的透明度。
• 🚧 **挑战与机遇**：标准化数据格式的缺乏、系统间的孤立以及数据共享的不足是实现供应链全面可见性的主要挑战。
• 📚 **案例研究**：通过投资数字化供应链解决方案，一些企业已经成功提高了其供应链的可见性，并改善了规划和沟通效率。
• 📈 **AI和预测**：人工智能在提高供应链预测的准确性方面具有潜力，有助于企业更有效地规划其运营。
• 🌟 **元宇宙的潜力**：元宇宙的发展可能会改变全球网络中供应链和运营的运作方式，尤其是在需要跨时区访问相同信息的场景中。
• ♻️ **持续改进**：企业正在不断寻找提高供应链可见性的方法，物流行业正在迅速变化，对可见性的关注将持续增长。

Q & A

供应链端到端的可视化是什么意思？

端到端的可视化指的是能够实时监控和了解供应链所有阶段的情况，从原材料采购到最终产品交付给消费者的整个过程。

为什么供应链的可视化如此重要？

供应链的可视化对于企业来说至关重要，因为它可以帮助企业更有效地控制和规划运营，做出更明智的决策，预测并主动解决供应链中可能出现的问题或延迟。

根据麦肯锡的研究，在疫情期间，物流专业人士报告的中断情况如何？

根据麦肯锡的研究，在疫情期间，56%的物流专业人士报告称他们处理了中等程度的中断，12%处理了严重中断。

供应链领导者在提高可视化方面做了哪些工作，以减少供应链中断的影响？

供应链领导者通过提高可视化，例如监控库存水平和客户订单状态，将这些可视化信息转化为决策制定的一部分，从而提高了供应链的韧性，减少了供应链中断的影响。

提高供应链可视化的主要障碍是什么？

提高供应链可视化的主要障碍包括缺乏标准化的数据格式、依赖于分散的遗留系统或数据库、手动整合数据的繁琐过程、合作伙伴之间的透明度有限以及信息共享的缺乏。

物联网（IoT）设备和传感器在提高供应链可视化方面扮演什么角色？

物联网（IoT）设备和传感器可以实时跟踪和监控货物，允许我们捕获有关位置、温度、湿度和其他相关参数的数据，从而提高供应链的可视化。

高级分析和人工智能（AI）在供应链管理中如何帮助提高可视化？

高级分析和人工智能（AI）可以处理大量的供应链数据，识别模式，预测中断，并推荐优化的行动方案，从而提高供应链的可视化和效率。

云平台和区块链技术如何帮助提高供应链的透明度和信任度？

云平台和区块链技术提供安全和去中心化的数据存储和共享，增强了供应链合作伙伴之间的透明度和信任。

API在供应链数据整合中扮演什么角色？

API（应用程序编程接口）可以促进不同系统之间的无缝通信，使得数据整合更加顺畅，从而提高供应链的可视化。

为什么说大数据、物联网和人工智能在供应链管理中的作用越来越重要？

这些技术在过去几年中取得了巨大进步，它们能够处理和分析大量的结构化和非结构化数据，帮助企业更好地理解市场和运营情况，从而提高供应链的效率和响应性。

元宇宙在供应链和运营中有哪些潜在的应用？

元宇宙可以为全球网络中的人员提供同一信息的访问，特别是在不同时区工作的人员，对于新产品的可视化和数据的可视化，元宇宙可能会成为企业的一个成熟的工具。

生成性AI如何帮助理解和处理供应链中的信号和数据？

生成性AI可以帮助理解和处理来自运营的一些信号和数据，尤其是在处理语言和非结构化数据方面，它可以提供更自然和流畅的交互体验，帮助企业更好地理解市场和运营情况。

Outlines

00:00

🌟 供应链的端到端可视化重要性

本段落讨论了供应链和物流行业中“可视化”这一概念的重要性。强调了实时获取供应链各个阶段信息的必要性，并称之为“端到端可视化”。提到了Jonathan William Larson和Elen Hoffman在前一集中提到了数字化在供应链中的作用，并决定专门讨论可视化。他们指出，尽管许多企业缺乏对供应链的完全可视化，但只有6%的企业拥有从端到端的完全可视化，尤其是在近年来供应链遇到的重大问题，如俄罗斯与乌克兰的战争之后，这一点尤其令人震惊。此外，麦肯锡的一项研究显示，在疫情期间，56%的物流专业人士报告了中等程度的干扰，12%报告了严重干扰。但那些致力于提高可视化的供应链领导者在2022年报告没有供应链中断的问题的可能性是其他领导者的两倍。

05:02

🛒 商业实践中的供应链可视化

本段落通过对话形式，讨论了供应链可视化在商业实践中的应用。提到了消费者在网上购物时对商品位置的实时可视化期望，以及这种期望在商业供应链中的缺乏。强调了在供应链中断常见的今天，缺乏可视化可能带来的严重后果。接着，介绍了Alina to Cannon和Hashim Amin两位专家，他们分别来自芬兰零售商Talkmoney和航运巨头Maersk。此外，还引用了Maria Ray Marston的观点，她是埃森哲全球供应链创新的领导者，她强调了可视化是供应链弹性的第一步，而弹性是生存的关键。

10:03

🚀 提升供应链可视化的挑战与机遇

本段落探讨了实现全面供应链可视化的挑战和机遇。提到了缺乏标准化数据格式、依赖于分散的旧系统或数据库、手动整合数据的困难，以及信息共享的缺乏等问题。同时，也讨论了物联网设备、高级分析和人工智能（AI）、云计算平台和区块链技术如何帮助实现实时跟踪和监控货物，提高供应链透明度和信任。强调了API集成在不同系统间实现无缝通信的重要性。

15:03

📈 技术发展对供应链可视化的影响

本段落讨论了大数据、物联网、AI等技术在过去几年中的进步，以及它们如何为供应链的数字化提供了新的可能性。提到了Tokmani的Elena Taganan和Accenture的Maria Ray Marston对未来供应链技术变革的看法，包括利用AI提高预测和预测能力，以及元宇宙在供应链和运营中的潜力。此外，还提到了生成性AI在处理来自运营的信号和数据方面的潜力，以及对非结构化数据的利用，这些数据有助于更好地理解市场和运营情况。

🔍 总结：供应链可视化的未来

最后，本段落总结了供应链可视化的重要性，并强调了它在识别和预测供应链中的摩擦和中断中的作用。提到了技术发展使得大规模提供从A到B的可视化成为可能，并且企业对提高供应链可视化的兴趣日益增加。强调了物流行业的快速变化，并预示了未来对可视化的进一步讨论。

Keywords

💡供应链

供应链是指产品从原材料采购、生产制造、分销、零售直至最终用户手中的整个流程。在视频中，供应链的可见性是核心主题，强调了在整个供应链中实现端到端的可见性对于企业运营的重要性。例如，视频提到了供应链中的可见性对于应对像疫情期间的中断和俄罗斯与乌克兰战争等重大问题至关重要。

💡可见性

在物流和供应链行业中，可见性指的是能够实时监控和了解产品从生产到交付的每一个环节。视频中提到，实现端到端的可见性对于提高供应链的韧性和效率至关重要。例如，视频中的嘉宾提到了通过提高供应链可见性，企业能够更有效地规划和领导其运营。

💡数字化

数字化是指将传统业务流程转换为基于数字技术的过程，以提高效率和透明度。视频中提到了数字化在供应链中的重要性，尤其是在提高供应链可见性方面。例如，通过数字化解决方案，企业能够集中其数据并与其供应商和承运商共享，从而提高可见性。

💡韧性

韧性是指在面对挑战和干扰时，系统或组织能够适应和恢复的能力。视频中提到，提高供应链的可见性是实现供应链韧性的第一步。例如，Accenture的全球供应链创新领导Maria Ray Marston强调了可见性在实现供应链韧性中的作用。

💡实时

实时指的是在事件发生的同时或几乎同时获取信息。在视频中，实时可见性被强调为供应链管理的关键，因为它允许企业即时了解库存水平、订单状态和运输情况。例如，视频提到了消费者在网上购物时期望能够实时跟踪其订单状态。

💡物联网

物联网（IoT）是指通过互联网将物理设备连接起来，使它们能够收集和交换数据。视频中提到了物联网设备和传感器在实现供应链中实时跟踪和监控货物方面的作用。例如，通过物联网技术，企业能够捕捉货物的位置、温度和湿度等信息。

💡人工智能（AI）

人工智能是指使计算机系统模拟人类智能的技术，包括学习、推理、自我修正和感知环境的能力。视频中讨论了AI在处理和分析大量供应链数据、预测中断和推荐优化措施方面的潜力。例如，视频提到了AI在提高供应链预测和规划能力方面的应用。

💡区块链技术

区块链技术是一种分布式账本技术，它提供了一个安全、透明且不可篡改的数据记录方式。视频中提到了区块链技术在提供安全和去中心化的数据存储和共享方面的潜力，这增强了供应链合作伙伴之间的信任和透明度。

💡数据格式标准化

数据格式标准化是指在不同系统和平台之间使用统一的数据结构和协议，以便更容易地交换和处理数据。视频中提到了缺乏标准化数据格式是实现全面供应链可见性的主要挑战之一。例如，视频提到了不同系统和数据库之间的数据整合困难，导致信息共享和透明度受限。

💡API集成

API（应用程序编程接口）集成是指通过API使不同的软件系统能够相互通信和交换数据。视频中提到了API集成在促进不同系统之间无缝通信方面的作用。例如，通过API集成，企业能够实现数据在供应链各环节的顺畅流动，从而提高整体的运营效率。

💡元宇宙

元宇宙是一个涉及增强现实（AR）、虚拟现实（VR）和其他技术的集合，旨在创造一个交互式的、沉浸式的虚拟环境。视频中提到了元宇宙在供应链和运营中的潜在应用，尤其是在全球网络和不同时区的人们需要访问相同信息的情况下。例如，视频提到了工业元宇宙在提高供应链数据可见性方面的潜力。

Highlights

供应链和物流行业中“可见性”是一个热门词汇，它对于实时监控整个供应链的各个阶段至关重要。

只有6%的企业拥有端到端的全面供应链可见性，这个数字令人惊讶，尤其是在供应链遇到重大挑战的时期。

麦肯锡的研究显示，在疫情期间，改善供应链可见性的领导者在报告供应链中断问题时的可能性是其他人的两倍。

消费者期望在网上购物时能够实时了解产品的位置和库存状态。

供应链的可见性可以帮助企业更有效地控制和规划运营，做出更明智的决策。

Tugman投资了数字化供应链解决方案，集中所有数据并允许与供应商和承运商共享，从而提高了可见性。

缺乏标准化数据格式是实现全面供应链可见性的主要挑战之一。

物联网设备和传感器可以实时跟踪和监控货物，提供位置、温度、湿度等数据。

高级分析和人工智能可以处理大量供应链数据，识别模式，预测中断，并推荐优化措施。

云平台和区块链技术提供安全和去中心化的数据存储和共享，增强供应链合作伙伴间的信任和透明度。

API集成可以通过不同系统促进无缝通信。

大数据、物联网和人工智能等技术在过去几年中取得了巨大进步，预示着数字化供应链的潜力。

Tokmani和Accenture都在探索如何利用人工智能提高需求预测的准确性和仓库的灵活性。

元宇宙的成熟可能会改变全球网络中不同时区人员访问相同信息的方式。

生成性人工智能的发展有望帮助我们理解来自运营的信号和数据，包括大量非结构化数据。

可见性是识别和预测供应链中的摩擦和中断的关键，有助于做出有效决策，避免货架空缺或库存过剩。

物流行业中不同参与方之间缺乏合作和数据共享是导致供应链可见性不足的主要原因。

技术发展使得大规模提供从A到B的可见性成为可能，企业对提高供应链可见性的兴趣日益增加。

Transcripts

foreign

[Music]

[Music]

visibility is such a buzzword unless

you've been living under a rock you will

have heard it bandied around the

logistics and supply chain industry you

may even have used the concept in a

conversation yourself

most of us will understand why a captain

navigating a ship would need visibility

but what we're hearing about now is

end-to-end visibility

visibility of all stages of the supply

chain in as close to real time as

possible

what does that mean and how do you get

it in this episode we're going to unpack

the importance of visibility and speak

to some experts about how you can

improve it

foreign

[Music]

this is beyond the Box integrated

Logistics from the inside out

you're listening to episode 3 of beyond

the box I'm Jonathan William Larson and

I'm elen Hoffman in the last episode we

looked at digitalization in the supply

chain and touched briefly on the

importance of visibility but we knew it

needed its very own episode absolutely

ever since I started working in the

world of Supply chains and Logistics I

have been completely intrigued by both

the need for visibility across the

supply chain and the fact so many

businesses lack it if you were to guess

how many businesses have full visibility

of their supply chain end to end whoa

you called me off guard there 55 yeah I

I would have thought the same but no six

six percent that's astounding I mean

especially considering the major issues

we have experienced in Supply chains in

the last couple of years most recently

with Russia's war in Ukraine exactly and

that's not the only research that we

have around visibility no that's right I

mean recently a study by McKinsey showed

that during the pandemic 56 percent of

logistic professionals reported dealing

with moderate disruptions and 12 with

heavy disruptions huge numbers but at

the same study also concluded that

supply chain leaders who worked on

improving into invisibility were two

times as likely to have reported no

challenges from supply chain disruptions

in 2022. wow that really underlines the

need for more visibility in Supply

chains the way I think about it is

whenever I buy something online and I'll

be honest usually it's a last minute

birthday present for my husband sorry

mate and it's true we've all been there

yeah yeah definitely I expect to know I

mean no comment

so I expect to know exactly where it is

at all times I'm gonna want to know if

it's in stock before I buy it I can see

the order being processed and I get an

alert when it's leaving the warehouse

and when it gets to my door I even know

when it's in the delivery van on the way

to my door yeah and you would think that

businesses would have this kind of

visibility in this day and age but they

don't and you can see why they would

want that level of detail and more in

this day and age disruptions are common

in the supply chains and the

consequences of not having visibility

could be huge we saw that during the

pandemic so definitely more significant

than having to run to the petrol station

to buy emergency flowers this has never

come to that it has never come to that

but yes moving on you're fooling no one

yeah okay okay in this episode we're

gonna hear from Alina to Cannon who is

the development manager for sales and

supply chain at The Finnish retailer

talk money and Hashim Amin at Maersk but

before we get to that I spoke to Maria

Ray Marston who is accenture's Global

Supply Chain Innovation lead she's done

some really interesting research on

supply chain visibility for Accenture

here's what she had to say we figured

out I think as many companies did in the

last two or three years that visit

ability is the first step towards

resiliency and having a resilient supply

chain and resilient Logistics operations

is is frankly the the key to survival so

visibility is that ability not only to

see what's happening around but just put

the context around some of the signals

that you're getting from the from the

market and from your operations so very

important in that path towards a

resilient supply chain visibility is

just not intra company visibility I

think that visibility has progressed

much farther and fastest because you can

have visibility on your warehouses you

have visibility on your plans you have

your own systems what we do know is that

in many cases the visibility that

matters for your resiliency is the

visibility Upstream in your in your

suppliers in your suppliers suppliers is

the visibility when you see inventory

levels in your customers is when you

also translate that visibility into

decision making

so Supply chains and resilience go

together like a horse and a carriage you

can't have one without the other very

difficult to resist singing that but

trust me you will be very glad that I

didn't I sure am

look we know that there are many

benefits for businesses who prioritize

improving visibility and you were lucky

enough to speak to one I most certainly

did I spoke to ili natsikanen from

tokmani which is the largest Discount

Store chain in Finland as well as a

mouse customer here's her perspective on

visibility I would say that visibility

is essential for really many reasons and

first and foremost to be able to fulfill

our main goal making sure that we

provide our customers the right products

at the right location at the right time

with the lowest possible prices we must

have visibility to our supply chain and

I think that this is because visibility

provides us the possibility to control

and

plan and Lead our operations efficiently

and also make more informed decisions

when doing so

it's a must have a real-time visibility

to our demand and inventory levels

throughout the chain so that we are able

to fulfill for example our stores with

the right amounts of the products on

time visibility also allows us to

proactively address any potential for

example issues or or delays that may

happen in the supply chain and this way

predict what is going to happen and and

then

make proactive actions based on the

information that we get

[Music]

so tugmani is very clear on the

importance of visibility but the

business had to work really hard to

achieve it right absolutely it's not

that long ago it was struggling with a

lack of oversight of processes and

timelines chokmati ended up investing in

a digital supply chain solution that

centralized all of its data and allowed

it to share it with vendors and carriers

whatnot it tapped into a whole new level

of visibility and boosted its ability to

plan and communicate effectively here's

Selena again we are quite campaign

driven company and we do weekly

promotions and campaigns which are of

course quite time sensitive and there

have been cases where we could not

predict what has what would happen and

for example this kind of uh products or

purchase orders have been due to some

sudden events

late in Finland and and then there might

be a case that in a weekly promotional

leaflet that we are doing there is a

product in campaign and we don't have

that available for the customers so this

is I think one of the worst case

scenaries that we can have if there is

no visibility to the supply chain we

have been able to develop the visibility

within the couple of last years and

especially when it comes to our import

orders uh especially those which come

from the forest Asia and it is important

market for us considering the sourcing

and there we have been able to uh

increase the transparency for example

where our products are moving and and

where our purchase orders for example

are what is the status of them so this

is something that we have been doing

within the last last few years

that's really cool to hear how a

business could make a difference like

that by improving visibility indeed and

we can dig a bit deeper into the

specific of how much a business can

improve visibility there are some major

barriers but also opportunities yeah

yeah there really are we spoke to Hashim

Amin who has worked in tech companies

like Google and Microsoft most recently

he was with McDonald's where he LEDs

their digital agenda now he's at mask

and he's very much across those

challengesham I had a visibility and

recommendations uh for musk supply chain

visibility is crucial because it allows

businesses to track and monitor the

movement of goods information finances

through the entire supply chain that

provides real-time insights into

inventory levels Supply performance

transportation and delivery enabling

better customer decision making and

improved operational efficiency

we found better visibility helps

identify bottlenecks to help reduce lead

times minimize stockouts enhance

customer satisfaction and mitigate risks

visibility of Transport also helps

optimize routes reduce Transportation

costs as well as improve overall supply

chain responsiveness

one major challenge in achieving

comprehensive supply chain visibility is

the lack of standardized data formats

between various systems many businesses

rely on Desperate Legacy systems or

siled databases making it difficult to

gather and consolidate data from

different stages of the supply chain

there is a lot of manual stitching

involved which can lead to errors

limited transparency between partners

and lack of information sharing

contribute to gaps in visibility

hindering a holistic view of the supply

chain Network

domestic connectivity between various

systems and carriers and Logistics

hinders seamless data sharing and

end-to-invisibility so the iot devices

the internet of things and sensors

enable real-time tracking and monitoring

of goods that allow us to capture data

on location temperature humidity and

other relevant parameters Advanced

analytics and AIA can process vast

amounts of supply chain data identify

patterns predict disruptions and

recommend optimized actions cloud-based

platforms and blockchain Technology

provide secure and decentralized data

storage and sharing this enhances

transparency and trust between all

supply chain Partners integration of

data through apis can facilitate

seamless communication across different

systems

[Music]

Big Data the internet of things and of

course AI all of these technologies have

taken huge leaps in the last couple of

years and they are only going to get

even more sophisticated going forward

this is why we are seeing an enhanced

focus on the potential for fully

digitalized Supply chains and wide

demand from customers are changing to

all zero touch Logistics Solutions as we

speak yeah the potential for the not so

distant future is incredible it's no

surprise that so many businesses are

already looking at how to take that next

step in their digitalization Journey

that's what Elena taganan from tokmani

and Maria Ray Marston from Accenture

shared with us in addition to this

import orders we are all always looking

for ways to for example

enhance our

product demand forecasts so that has

been one topic and also help our

flexible Warehouse you know when is the

cargo arriving to Finland and when is

the cargo arriving to our old Warehouse

so that they are able to also plan their

operations and resources efficiently I

think that the AI is something that is

today important and and has to be

considered

it's difficult to say that how could we

utilize AI I'm sure that there are

specific things that we could do for

example when you consider the

predictability and forecasting

that's something that I'm sure that we

could utilize Ai and and regarding the

visibility and supply chain there are

two things that are we're are really in

our in our Horizon of significant

technology changes that may change the

way in which Supply networks operate and

even though it's not as high as it was a

few years ago but we're seeing the

coming to maturity of the metaverse

we see especially in in supply chain and

and operations where you have Global

networks people with different time

zones that need access to the same

information we're seeing for the

industrial metaverse both for new

products but also for for visibility of

data I think probably we're going to

need a a generation of younger

logisticians that grew up uh you know in

video games and grew up in that digital

space but we definitely see the

metaverse coming to a point of my of

maturity for Enterprises the other one

every obviously everybody's been so

excited in the last year or two around

the whole concept of generative AI and

generative AI as the way to really

hardness something that is being elusive

from technology for many years which is

language and we all grew up with very

clunky chat Bots and very clunky

interfaces with voice and voice

assistance and it's exciting to see how

today we are testing a lot of generative

AI capabilities

to make sense of some of the signals and

some of the data that is coming from the

operation so it is very exciting that

we're getting to a point where we could

do more to hardness not only structured

data in terms of numbers and and the

traditional data that we have in our

databases but the tons of unstructured

data that helps us make sense of what's

happening in our markets and our

operations

I don't know about you but I would

certainly like the same sort of

visibility as to why my kids think it's

funny to throw food on the floor I mean

that would certainly make my life easier

if I could divert her intention before

disaster strikes that

are very relatable I guess we could all

but Helen take me through what we

learned today absolutely your example is

actually a really really good one

visibility is the key to identifying and

even anticipating friction and

disruptions so many elements change they

change fast and in our world today

end-to-end visibility makes it easier to

navigate those and make effective

decisions to either avoid empty shelves

which we know too well or overflowing

storerooms instead it helps you get the

right products to the right place at the

right time but it's merely a fraction of

businesses that today have that kind of

visibility in their supply chains this

is mainly due to a lack of collaboration

and sharing of data between the

different parties in the logistics

industry and furthermore it is only in

the last couple of years where the

technological development has made it

possible to offer visibility from A to B

on a grand scale and one thing is for

sure we are seeing more interests from

businesses in improving visibility in

their supply chains and the logistics

industry is changing rapidly I guess we

could talk about this for hours right

right I don't think we've heard the last

on visibility what do you reckon should

we take it up again another time most

definitely that's a deal then well until

next time thank you so much for

listening to beyond the box now if you

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we're here at the very end a very big

thank you to our guests and of course to

our dear dear colleague modern Butler

who produced this episode cheerio

[Music]

oh