Contrasting supply chain traceability and supply chain visibility: are they interchangeable?
The International Journal of Logistics Management
ISSN: 0957-4093
Article publication date: 26 January 2021
Issue publication date: 22 July 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Supply chain traceability and supply chain visibility have become a critical element for the effective management of contemporary complex supply chains. At their core is information sharing, which has been acknowledged as a key prerequisite for logistics and supply chain performance, but whose notional underpinnings have not been delineated fully, leading to interchangeable deployment of these terms. Addressing the shortcoming, this paper aims to establish a contrast between the two notions.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from systematic review protocols, a multi-disciplinary review scope is constructed wherein the synthesis is strategized to primarily channel implications for the scholarship of logistics and supply chain management. The review is aimed at addressing two research objectives: (1) how the notions of traceability and visibility in supply chain management develop contrast in terms of their thematic emphasis and (2) to attain an integrative understanding of the notional convergence and divergence between supply chain traceability and visibility for raising strategic recommendations.
Findings
The review outcomes help contrast both the convergence and the divergence between traceability and visibility in the supply chain environment, and the differentiated but fundamental role that information sharing plays within these notions to outline why they are not interchangeable.
Originality/value
The originality of the findings lies in the conceptual synthesis of the relevant literature from both technological and non-technological perspectives to ultimately draw logistics and supply chain management implications. The review also points out key strategic considerations to demarcate the notional boundaries of traceability and visibility in future research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Mr. Nilanjan Bhattacharya who served as Research Assistant in this study for a limited course of progress. I am grateful to my mentor Prof. Tobias Schoenherr of Michigan State University.
Citation
Roy, V. (2021), "Contrasting supply chain traceability and supply chain visibility: are they interchangeable?", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 942-972. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-05-2020-0214
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited