The most important benefit of supply chain visibility is enabling management by exception, says Sean Riley of Software AG. He explains what is driving renewed interest in this area and outlines steps to achieving real-time alerts and automated responses.

DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight arm of Deutsche Post DHL, has launched a mobile app for customers to track their ocean and airfreight shipments.

Aberdeen Group's new research reveals that 63 percent of 149 companies with predominant global supply chains have ranked supply chain visibility as a high priority for improvement. It also shows that the top 20 percent best-in-class companies claim to be compliant to GS1 Standards and track supply chain visibility at the item level.

Global manufacturers are putting their supply chains at the center of their business strategies to serve as the foundation for operational efficiency and collaborative innovation, according to KPMG's fourth annual Global Manufacturing Outlook. The report, entitled "Competitive Advantage - Enhancing Supply Chain Networks for Efficiency and Innovation", surveyed 335 C-level executives globally - including 95 in the U.S.