Enhancing Supply Chain Efficiency: Discover the Power of Collaborative Visibility Platforms

The Brand Story is the Customer Journey

The supply chain is a crucial component of retail business. It involves the movement of goods from manufacturers to retailers and ultimately to the end consumer through multiple enterprises, which can become intricate and complex. As supply chain management continues to evolve, so does the software and technology used to manage this challenging landscape. Out of necessity to manage multi-enterprise networks and systems, collaborative visibility platforms have started to expand across the marketplace.

What Is Collaborative Visibility for the Supply Chain?

Collaborative visibility refers to the ability of different stakeholders to access and share real-time information on the movement of goods and drive actions within a supply chain. This network of online collaboration allows the sharing of data and insights between retailers, brands, 3PLs, and 4PLs to enhance efficiency and transparency.

Collaborative visibility systems, such as the Osa Unified Commerce Platform, help manage the supply chains for retailers, brands, 3PLs, and 4PLs by providing a single source of truth. Collaborative visibility platforms, or supply chain collaboration network (SCCN) as defined by ARC Advisory Group, enables stakeholders to access accurate and up-to-date information on the movement of goods. These solutions, named by Gartner as Multi-enterprise Supply Chain Business Network, help coordinate and execute on business processes that extend across multiple enterprises. In every definition, Collaborative Visibility Platforms offer prescriptive decisions and actions, and drive efficiency and effectiveness for the entire supply chain network. 

This growing software marketplace is now valued over $3 billion in size according to a recent Forbes article and is projected to grow at double digit rates for the next five years. 

What is a Collaborative Visibility Platform?

There are distinct advantages to implementing a Collaborative Visibility Platform. For example, our platform is a cloud-based supply chain management platform that provides real-time visibility across the entire supply chain. It is designed to help companies streamline their operations and optimize their supply chain by providing insights into their inventory, orders, shipments, and more. The platform is tech-agnostic and is built on a modular architecture, which means that companies can choose the product hubs that they need and customize them to suit their specific requirements. This include six platform hubs which can be used together or implemented into an existing supply chain ecosystem. These hubs include Unified Commerce, Integration Management, Warehouse Management, Data Order Management, Fulfillment Management, and Last Mile Management

One of the key benefits of utilizing a collaborative visibility platform is to allow companies to integrate their entire supply chain operations- from marketplaces to physical stores, warehouses, transportation partners, and last-mile delivery. By consolidating data from different sources, the Osa platform provides AI insights for better decision-making, empowering our customers and their partners to be one step ahead.

Investing in collaborative visibility technology is crucial for businesses looking to improve their supply chain management. The key stakeholders that should be investing in this technology include:

• Retailers: Retailers can use collaborative visibility platforms to gain real-time insights into inventory levels and delivery times. This enables them to optimize their supply chain, reduce stockouts, and improve customer satisfaction.

• Brands: Brands can use collaborative visibility platforms to monitor the movement of their products across different channels. This enables them to ensure that their products are being delivered on time and in the right condition. 

• 3PLs and 4PLs: 3PLs and 4PLs can use collaborative visibility platforms to provide better visibility to their customers. This can help them differentiate their services and win new business. Osa’s collaborative and integrated ecosystem model enables 3PLs to mold into a 4PL by leveraging other connected 3PL networks to offer an enhanced service to their customers.

At Osa, we believe that the brand story is the customer journey. By providing a single source of truth in the supply chain, our platform enables retailers and brands to deliver a seamless customer experience.

Who Should Invest In Collaborative Visibility Platforms?

At a high level, companies that have a stake in supply chain management and logistics should be investing in collaborative visibility platforms. This includes stakeholders from different departments within a company, such as:

CFO (Chief Financial Officer): The CFO is responsible for managing a company's financial resources and ensuring that investments generate a positive return. Collaborative visibility platforms help the CFO achieve these goals by improving supply chain efficiency and reducing costs. By gaining real-time insights into inventory levels, delivery times, and other key metrics, the CFO can optimize operations and reduce waste. This can lead to cost savings and a better return on investment.

CSCO (Chief Supply Chain Officer): The CSCO is responsible for managing a company's supply chain and ensuring that goods are delivered on time and in the right condition. Collaborative visibility platforms help the CSCO achieve these goals by providing real-time visibility into the movement of goods across the supply chain. By gaining insights into inventory levels, delivery times, and other key metrics, the CSCO can better coordinate operations, reduce lead times, and improve customer satisfaction.

CMO (Chief Marketing Officer): The CMO promotes a company's products and services and generates revenue. Collaborative visibility platforms help the CMO achieve these goals by providing real-time insights into inventory levels, delivery times, and other key metrics that impact how they budget ads and how they choose products to move and in which markets. By gaining visibility into the supply chain, the CMO can better coordinate promotional efforts, improve customer satisfaction, and drive revenue growth.

Boost Productivity with Collaborative Visibility Platforms

Collaborative visibility platforms are revolutionizing supply chain management for retailers, brands, 3PLs, and 4PLs. By investing in this technology, businesses can improve their efficiency, transparency, and customer satisfaction.  In addition, CFOs, CSCOs, and CMOs should look at the advantages of a collaborative visibility platform to improve their financial performance, supply chain efficiency, and revenue growth.  By gaining real-time insights into the movement of goods and coordinating operations across different departments, logistics professionals can optimize their operations and deliver a seamless customer experience.

At Osa, we are proud to be at the forefront of this transformation, providing our customers with a comprehensive platform for managing their supply chain operations. Let us know if Osa can share more about our solutions and how we support you with the right steps so you and your business are one step ahead. Contact us to learn more.