ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the topic of supply chain visibility and reviews the use of Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) as one option with the potential to deliver this. BAM broke on to the scene around 2002, stimulated by a growing interest in Business Process Management (BPM), which made it possible to understand clearly the relationship between real-time IT operations and the corresponding business activities. For organizations with an integration layer deployed to support their electronic connectivity with the world, the potential exists to deploy a BAM solution at relatively little cost and reconfiguration. First-generation BAM usage was mostly targeted at understanding business flow through IT systems, by counting processes, transactions and events, and displaying that information either through dashboards or historical reports. The high level of statistical and analytical intelligence now delivered with the best BAM solutions provides a much better and more accurate understanding of the business dynamics and brings a focus on addressing real business issues.
