A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

Supply chain 

visibility

Access to up‑to‑date, 

accurate, relevant 

information about supply 

chain processes to 

different stakeholders.

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Part 2  Strategy and applications

a TCP/IP protocol is becoming standard to reduce the costs of proprietary  leased‑  line net‑

works ( Chapter   3   ). Information needed by managers to intervene in the supply chain process 

when problems occur is delivered as alerts or through continuous monitoring across secure 

private intranets or extranets used to link to partners.    

  Supply chain management implementation 

 The difficulties facing managers who are responsible for managing supply chains is indicated 

by these quotes from Conspectus (2000). When asked ‘How difficult do you find it coordi‑

nating distribution and logistic plans at your sites?’ a respondent from a UK mobile phone 

operator described his company’s distribution and logistics process as ‘an absolute night‑

mare’. Another commented: 

  Everything is moving so quickly within our industry at the moment that sourcing suppliers 

and changing our processes to fit with them is a constant battle. We are hoping our SCM 

software and the  roll-  out of our extranet will grow end-to-end ROI but it is easy to forget 

that we must constantly examine the business model to ensure we are doing things right.