Blind Spot Determination

• The biggest blind spots in supply chain management were determined based on articles on the subject by MIT Sloan School of Management, Supply Chain Toolbox, Supply Management News, Supply Chain Brief, and Technology and Business.

• The blind spots in supply chain management identified by these publications are cyber threats, ethical sourcing, blockchain preparation, chain visibility, and the use of predictive data.  

Cyberthreats

• Difficulties in managing the cyber threat in supply management emanate from service providers and external contractors, from mergers and acquisition activity, from the product, and from network services.

Ethical Sourcing

• The jewelry, seafood, palm oil, and textiles industries have all faced scrutiny regarding how ethically raw materials have been sourced.

Preparing for Blockchain

• The nature of blockchain as a distributed ledger technology lends itself to supply chain management so well that it has been described as the "killer app" for blockchain. The technology is being used in a pilot project between A.P. Moller-Maersk and IBM.

Chain Visibility

• Technical visibility was identified in a study as crucial to engendering consumer trust, and as a way of potentially leading to increased sales. At present 54% of surveyed companies had no supply chain visibility.

Lack of predictive Data

• Real-time data analytics can help supply chain managers to anticipate, and react, to changes in demand quickly.

Summary

• Initial research focused on identifying the five major blind spots in supply chain management from a review of consultant articles and industry publications.
• Information on this subject was readily available and the research completed kept to a global scope. Please advise whether continued research should retain a global focus or should the research be limited to a US focus.
• We are proposing continued research to elaborate on each of the identified blind spots and how increased focus on the blind spots may lead to addressing the supply chain management deficiencies. Please advise in the section below if the research should continue in this vein, or if you require an additional, or different focus.