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 4th annual Global Manufacturing Outlook — Competitive Advantage - Enhancing Supply Chain Networks for Efficiency and Innovation — which surveyed 335 C-level executives globally, including 95 in the U.S.
Ironically though, many manufacturing executives (49 percent globally; 54 percent U.S.) admit that their companies currently do not have visibility of their supply chain beyond Tier 1 suppliers. Moreover, only 9 percent of the 335 global respondents of the 2013 KPMG 2013 survey say they have complete visibility of their supply chains. That number is even lower among U.S. executives, with only 7 percent claiming complete supplier visibility.