1st Edition

Supply Chain Visibility From Theory to Practice

By Jonah Saint McIntire Copyright 2014

    Transparency and accurate management information are essential if you want to ensure that the supply chain is working for your business. Supply Chain Visibility is a critical primer for readers with backgrounds in supply chain management, system integration, strategy consulting, and enterprise software. Jonah McIntire sets the stage for a new framework that empowers business leaders to connect their projects, tasks or work streams back to the strategic message that it is worth applying organizational resources to supply chain visibility. Drawing on research findings, he reviews the prerequisites needed for a successful visibility solution and suggests a visibility fitness scorecard to compare the quality of widely varying approaches. The second section of the book reviews in detail the eight most common types of supply chain visibility and offers a set of indicators of potential fit for each one. The book also explains how to acquire visibility technology and the available options, and includes guidance on best practice for in-house designed systems. If you or your organization are moving into this area, Jonah’s insights will place you in a far stronger position to decide exactly how to leverage the benefits of supply chain visibility solutions; they also walk you carefully through the minefields of ineffective approaches or technologies to give you the greatest chance of success.

    Part 1 Supply Chain Visibility in Theory; Chapter 1 The History and Definition of Supply Chain Visibility; Chapter 2 A Novel Framework: Definition, Prerequisites, and Scorecarding; Part 2 Supply Chain Visibility in Practice; Chapter 3 Popular Types of Visibility; Chapter 4 Options for Acquiring Visibility Technology; Chapter 5 Buy or Rent: Software Vendors for Supply Chain Visibility; Chapter 6 Build It Yourself … In-House Visibility Software; Chapter 7 Borrowing Supply Chain Visibility; Chapter 8 Important Technological Trends; Chapter 9 Conclusion;

    Biography

    Jonah McIntire is a co-founder of Clear Abacus, a cloud-computing transport planning and optimization solution. Prior to founding Clear Abacus his career in the supply chain field spanned consulting, product management, change management, supply chain information systems, process re-engineering, and outsourcing. He has a broad global perspective, having lived or executed major supply chain projects within the last ten years in Denmark, France, the UK, Japan, China, Singapore, Switzerland, the USA, and Canada. In the area of supply chain visibility, Jonah’s work experience includes system selection and deployment for a major retailer, solution and integration consulting as a software vendor, IT product management for a logistics service provider, and periodic publications, presentations, and interviews. He holds a bachelors and master’s degree of the University of Missouri, Columbia.

    ’Visibility is more crucial than ever with today's global supply chains. McIntire brings a blend of both practical experience and theoretical expertise to help create a primer on visibility that would be valuable for any executive.’ David Landau, Vice President of Product Management, Manhattan Associates, Inc., USA ’Jonah McIntire brings a unique mix of academic and industry experience to his work. This allows him to guide readers of all organizational levels and experience through the theory and into the practical aspects of implementing a supply chain visibility initiative. His review of existing technologies is especially useful for those just starting down this road.’ Mike Early, formerly Managing Director of Logistics, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc ’Detailed material that will appeal to a supply chain specialist.’ Supply Business, March 2014