Discuss the role of information in the supply chain and how it supports supply chain planning and execution.

It has been said that information is the lifeline of business, driving effective decisions and actions. It is especially critical to supply chain managers because their direct line of sight to supply chain processes is very limited. Information provides them with insights and visibility into the supply chain activities taking place at distant supplier and customer locations. This visibility of demand, customer orders, delivery status, inventory stock levels, and production schedules provides managers with the knowledge needed to make effective situational assessments and develop appropriate responses. In contrast, limited awareness of external activity would leave the supply chain manager blind to the true situation and unable to make knowledge-driven decisions. Actions would be based on educated guesses with no guarantee of effective outcomes.
A wide variety of information is needed for a supply chain to perform as anticipated. As you read through this book, it will become evident just how important information is for both long-range and day-to-day decision making. Supply chain professionals require information from across the channel for strategic planning issues such as network design, tactical planning and collaboration with supply chain partners, and execution of key processes. This information must effectively flow within the organization and between key participants to ensure the timely flow and control of materials and money in the supply chain.