Why supply chain visibility works best when data is shared

A product crosses many boundaries on its way from the manufacturer to the end customer; suppliers, carriers, distributors, warehouses, and retailers all play an important role in the journey. At each handoff, data about that product is keyed or scanned into new systems and interpreted in a new context. Unfortunately, while the pallet or parcel moves quickly, the information about it may not. Many organizations have invested heavily in supply chain visibility tools over the past decade, and retail, manufacturing, and logistics organizations generally have at least some capacity to collect data. Even so, a third of today’s challenges stem from how frequently data is lost or disconnected as shipments move between systems and trading partners. “Progress has certainly been made, and companies understand that visibility and traceability are very important,” says Liz Sertl, senior director, supply chain visibility at GS1 US , a global, non-profit standards organization. “But much of that is limited to their own internal operations, and they need to start thinking externally as well. Real visibility can’t happen without the exchange of data between trading partners.” The obstacle, then, becomes interoperability. Different organizations use different systems and processes. As such, each may describe the same product differently. That leaves trading partners stuck with manual look-up tables and cross-reference documentation to reconcile inventory, even in the most straightforward exchanges. That disconnect shows up when analyzing scan data, with 70% of logistics operations reporting barcode readability issues weekly. Data gaps create inventory management problems Consumer expectations have complicated issues. Demands for faster, more reliable delivery continue to trend upward, but retailers can’t reliably promise one-hour or same-day delivery if they can’t see their inventory; B2B buyers have similarly run out of patience with long wait times and poor visibility. Establishing an accurate view of on-shelf and warehouse availability ties in directly with upstream visibility. After all, knowing what’s on hand is only half of the solution; the other half is knowing what’s coming. When the inventory picture is wrong, costs compound quickly: extra carrying costs for safety stock or accidental overstocking, missed sales and lost customers due to phantom inventory and unforeseen stockouts, and higher claims, chargebacks, reships, and customer service costs from reconciling inaccurate shipments. Sustainability is a data governance problem Organizations often frame sustainability as a corporate value or public perception exercise. Underneath it all, however, sustainability is a data governance challenge, especially as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements require granular data about products and packaging for compliance — and the challenges don’t stop there. Each state with EPR laws in place also has different reporting requirements, so gathering the right data for one doesn’t necessarily ensure compliance for another. “Consider a bottle of water,” Sertl says. “There’s the plastic bottle, the label, and the closure, which itself may be two or three different pieces. Each component has a material composition that has to be identified and reported. Sometimes in pounds, sometimes in grams. Organizations need to have that very detailed level of master data; not just what the bottle weighs, but all of its pieces and parts.” Once organizations collect and organize that data, they must also govern it. If anyone can go into the system and change the bottle's weight or measurements, the wrong information could be reported, leading to higher fees and penalties. Scope 3 emissions have the same problem, but at a much higher level. The underlying information required to report on them sits entirely outside the company’s four walls. With standardized product data, information exchange across partners becomes simpler and more manageable, and Scope 3 reporting can be based on facts rather than a collection of assumptions, estimates, and educated guesses. A common, shared foundation Data gaps and sustainability compliance ultimately share the same solution: a scannable connection linking the physical product to relevant, up-to-date, and accurate data. Providing this connection requires multiple things to be in place: Using 2D barcodes and/or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID ) to capture packaging and product data at the component level. Tying products and components to the correct identifiers, such as Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) and Global Location Numbers (GLNs) . Tracking product data in a standardized format, such as EPCIS , as it moves between suppliers, manufacturers, co-packers, retailers, consumers, and waste management providers. This capability wouldn't have been possible even five or 10 years ago, mainly because brands consider label space precious and don’t want to overcrowd it with information about material