Analyst Insight: IBM's recent Chief Supply Chain Officer Report - "The Smarter Supply Chain of the Future" - has pretty much validated our four-year informal polling premise that about 90 percent of all supply chains are not mapped out in any formal approach. IBM's respondents placed supply chain visibility among the Top 5 supply chain challenges. Seventy percent said supply chain visibility is one of their major keys to success - yet the majority of those responding have not addressed the issue! - Gregory L. Schlegel, Vice President, Business Development, SherTrack LLC, and Adjunct Professor, Supply Chain Risk Management, Lehigh University, Graduate Program

Analyst Insight: Ditching spreadsheet programs and stand-alone supply chain solutions for integrated software solutions is key to increasing visibility throughout the supply chain. By improving visibility, supply chain leaders can further optimize inventory and improve forecasting abilities, as well as increase the business's ability to react to disaster within the supply chain - a top priority for many executives. - Michael Koploy, ERP analyst, Software Advice