Let's look at the Supply Chain:

Do you ever question your knowledge of what is going on in Supply Chain? Referring to the complete definition provided in the introduction. Most people in positions expected to know are unlikely to be able to provide a step-by-step walkthrough of product or service flow on request; without first consulting multiple Excel spreadsheets, systems, emails and making a few phone calls to their trusted planning and various operations managers. READ What Gets Measured Is What Gets Done! There are many causal factors of poor visibility and the exact combination will be organization-specific. To summarise at a high level, available and capable technology is often under-utilized. Cost and delivery take priority in the eyes of Supply Chain leadership. Consequently, becoming digitally enabled does not always get the drive and support needed in favor of tried and tested methods (i.e. Excel). In addition, generational diversity means that people have different perceptions of digital. For some, digitally enabled means having a well-configured ERP product linked to either macro-driven spreadsheets or a BI platform at best. For others, it is about the use of artificial intelligence to automate the actions and commands that people have been giving to such applications since the late 20th century. I sit in the latter group whilst supporting diversity. The overall effect is delayed action and plenty of catching up with a great sense of urgency. Future State (‘To Be’) A highly outsourced and autonomous Supply Chain. Since implementing technology is expensive and success is dependent on business adoption amongst other factors, it is practically impossible to keep up with the latest trends. As a result, those that can benefit from economies of scale by focussing all their effort on one technology platform serving many customers will prevail. This is the rise of what will be known Supply Chain as a Service (SCaaS) – a play on the term Software as a Service (SaaS).