A supply chain is no stronger than its weakest link. Businesses at every phase of the supply/demand relationship need to embrace best practices and technology if they intend to remain relevant and flourish. Supply chain expert Anthony Nelson knows how to make it all work. This month: Competitive pressures intensify the drive for enhanced visibility, faster communication, and greater accountability.


I was having a conversation with a small business owner who was in the process of approaching several major grocery and retail chains to carry his products. He was letting me in on his sales strategy, and one of his statements stuck with me: “I will make sure they know that we are EDI capable.”

It was a simple assertion, but one that underscored some stark new realities of the modern global economy. He was a small producer of quality cookie batter, stretching his resources to accommodate practices outside of his core competencies. Not only was he competing on price, quality and brand recognition, he was competing on his ability to collaborate with potential customers’ supply chain improvement initiatives.

Since when did being capable of electronic communication become a bargaining tool for small businesses in non-IT-related industries? That answer is not clear-cut, but the related trends most certainly are. More and more businesses are looking for ways to streamline their supply chains, reduce and automate manual processes, increase visibility within all organizational and operational levels, and net a positive ROI on the technology engaged to accomplish those goals. These imperatives, along with the available technology and expertise required to realize them throughout a global supply chain, have brought us to where we are today.

Enterprises that once shied away from cloud-based systems and technology are now developing a keen interest in the area. Business intelligence, electronic document exchange, cloud-based process replacement and online real-time visibility tools are increasingly paving the way for further supply chain improvements, as well as highlighting inefficiencies that may have previously been considered “just the cost of doing high volume business.”

I was recently consulting on a large enterprise initiative. The company was generating and sending their multiple customers so many electronic shipping documents from so many different locations and systems that they had very little reliable information on where their compliance penalties were coming from, what the issues were, and where to channel their resources in order to improve their performance. They would receive compliance fines, pay them, and simply move on. The solution was the implementation of a cloud-based visibility application to bridge, monitor and data mine the multiple systems. No system replacement or consolidation was required, nor changes to operational processes. The immediate impact of heightened visibility and accountability, along with other positive spinoffs those bring to operations, are widening the appeal of many such products and services. The availability and proliferation of low cost options, as well as the drive to remain within core competencies, are further reinforcing the trend.

While the biggest changes are occurring at the enterprise level, the small- and medium-sized businesses that supply them are naturally following suit, willingly or not. Over the last five years, I’ve noticed a marked increase in mandatory supplier IT enablement, system integrations, and “collaborative” initiatives aimed at further automating the supply chain. On the stick side of the push are compliance penalties, open supplier score carding, preferred vendor rankings, and reduced or terminated business arrangements. On the carrot side we are seeing increased business arrangements, improved terms, shared costs, and closer collaborations. Some of the more advanced organizations have even begun to offer incentives for extending electronic integration to a deeper level.  Suppliers whose own suppliers are connected electronically are being afforded preferred vendor status.

Given the competitive environment of an increasingly integrated global economy, the focus on supply chain excellence will only increase. With demand for supply chain visibility, process automation, and data integration on the rise, along with the evolving and emerging tools to accommodate them, the future of information technology looks bright.


Anthony Nelson (BA Econ, CSC, APICS member) is the Operations Manager for Meade Willis, a cloud-based supply chain service provider.  He also has hands-on experience as a shop floor foreman and quality control supervisor. Contact him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..