Do you have visibility, end to end, within your global supply chain and your vast networks of third party trading and business partners? 

What if something goes wrong with a supplier at the worst possible time?  You have big orders for the upcoming autumn season and you just got word that one of your raw material suppliers is involved in a scandal with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and now they are coming after your brand with the full force of their supporters – your consumers!  It turns out that the wool your supplier uses on the cuffs of their trendiest ankle boot was shorn from inhumanely treated sheep and has been for some time now.  Who knew?  You had no idea because you can’t “see” how they harvested the wool.

You had no idea about how these sheep were treated or where your wool even came from until you got a call from a network news station asking for comment on the story.  As much of a shock as this may or may not be to you, you should have known.  Your brand will now have to start damage control and potentially deal with lost profits and control any harsh backlash that can ruin your brand’s reputation as a result. 

What could you have done to avoid all of this headache and bad press?  You should have had greater supply chain visibility, especially within product safety and testing, and compliance.

When it comes to your supply chain, everything needs to be transparent, end to end.  The days of total in-house operations are over and the age of globalized outsourcing is here to stay.  Where it once took one company to design, manufacture, ship and sell a garment, the same company now has any number of other companies supplying materials for, manufacturing, shipping, testing and selling that same single garment.

Having such a vast network means reduced control and higher risk.  Mitigating these risks, as well as identifying needs and issues within the supply chain, means that there is a greater need for collaboration and visibility between all of these moving parts. 

This is where technology solutions swoop in to save the day.  With the right technology solution and implementation, your supply chain can blossom with reduced risk, greater operational efficiency and profitability and overall improvement- All while avoiding those profit and brand damaging issues that can arise from not having solid product safety testing and compliance visibility.

So I ask again – Got Visibility?