Specifically, our Longitudes experts advise that supply chain executives can drive profitability ahead if they closely align their supply chain strategies to five universal business plan challenges.

Those are:

* Growing by reaching new markets

* Improving customer service

* Differentiating from competitors

* Improving cash position

* And enhancing productivity

Longitudes experts also point out that a key way to ensure better customer service is to deliver complete supply chain visibility. Visibility, of course, allows companies, customers and supply chain partners to look up and down the supply chain, to see exactly where an order is, where it's headed and why. No one can afford the risk of black holes of information anymore.

On the other hand, a company can greatly enhance customer service by providing richer, more up-to-date information about shipments in progress.

Imagine a service that would give high-volume shippers detailed visibility into the status of multiple shipments. They can share this information electronically with their customers who can feed it into their own systems like inventory and accounts payable. Visibility tools like this can help companies provide instant answers to customer questions and to do a better job of troubleshooting if something goes wrong.

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