In today’s era of high customer expectations, businesses naturally aspire to the highest levels of service, from order confirmation to guaranteed delivery dates. At the same time, it’s imperative that they develop the ability to secure business continuity—to anticipate and mitigate possible supply chain disruptions, both local and global, that can range from political to environmental to economic and can seriously disrupt operations without warning.

Yes, most companies have invested in sophisticated enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems within the confines of their own organization; and many have gone further, expanding to include point-to-point connections with external partners. But if businesses are to succeed in both quality customer service and business continuity, they must take a new approach to supply chain management—specifically, the ability to orchestrate suppliers, assemblers, and distributors to a level of accuracy unheard of just a few years ago. Achieving that requires a shift to a singular view of goods and services among all entities that touch the supply chain.