Requirements on Supply Chain Visibility: A Case on Inbound Logistics

Events such as Covid-19 have revealed the vulnerabilities that companies face due to low visibility. Consequently, companies experience impact on their supply chains in terms of disruptions of material supply, deliveries, productivity and revenue. Thus, the importance of Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) in global and competitive markets with increasing sustainability demands has received widespread recognition. Yet, the literature provides limited understanding of requirements to consider when developing a SCV system. Addressing the gap, this study presents the findings from a case study during the first months of 2021 at a global manufacturing company developing a SCV system to improve their inbound flow. Using a system engineering perspective, this study presents requirements highlighted during early stage for a SCV system. The results indicate the importance of ensuring SCV system requirements to enable data collection, handling and usage for decision making leading to both supply chain sustainability and resilience. This study contributes to the understanding of SCV by presenting and categorizing requirements considered for real-time case at a manufacturing company when developing a SCV system.