If you’re under 30 and working in an office, the fax machine is probably at the top of your list.
As it turns out, nearly one third of manufacturers are still using fax machines to exchange production information with their supply chain partners, according to a recent survey.
Acsis, a provider of supply chain visibility solutions, recently surveyed 110 supply chain executives in chemical, food and beverage, consumer products, pharmaceutical and other manufacturing sectors to determine the level of connectivity between manufacturers and external supply partners.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Acis by Supply Chain Digest. The reliance on faxing indicated in the survey results suggest that manufacturers still have some distance to go before they can achieve real-time visibility of goods as they move through third-party production cycles.
Other notable results from the survey include a continued propensity toward outsourcing, with more than 65 percent of manufacturers either already outsourcing or looking to outsource substantial portions of their supply chains.
However, a heavy reliance on outsourcing combined with limited supply chain visibility as a result of using outdated communications technology has lead manufacturers to use risky or inefficient workarounds. 41 percent of respondents reported padding customer delivery dates, and 35 percent reported holding excess inventory.
Out of the supply chain managers surveyed, 81 percent cited improved supply chain visibility and collaboration as being likely to result in cost savings, efficiency improvements and shorter lead times. Unfortunately, technical barriers—like using decades-old communication systems—are impeding efforts to improve supply chain visibility.
“Despite decades of investment and improvement in enterprise integration, visibility remains blurry outside the four walls of the enterprise,” said Jeremy Coote, CEO of Acsis. “As outsourcing to supply chain partners continues to grow, manufacturers need lightweight data tools, like Acsis Edge Network, to capture real-time status, update enterprise and related systems, and trace goods as they move through the make-to-ship process.”
For more information, visit the Acsis website.