ABSTRACT
The current state of supply chain visibility research and the theory it has generated has at least three significant deficits that are acute pressure points on practitioners trying to build visibility solutions. The first weakness is in the ambiguity and variety of definitions of supply chain visibility. A weak definition may not seem like a significant impediment, but in projects where organizational change management is required it’s vital that the organization share a common meaning behind the terms they are using. Beyond just alignment on a shared meaning, supply chain visibility needs to be defined more comprehensively (i.e. at greater levels of abstraction), while also focusing attention on the practical aspects of visibility, such as how it can be measured and improved.
