Many manufacturing executives (49 percent globally; 54 percent U.S.) admit that their companies currently do not have visibility of their supply chain beyond Tier 1 suppliers. Moreover, only nine percent of the 335 global respondents of the 2013 survey say they have complete visibility of their supply chains. That number is even lower among U.S. executives, with only seven percent claiming complete supplier visibility.

"Obtaining real-time visibility across all tiers in the supply chain can significantly increase speed to market, reduce capital expenditures and manage risk," said Jeff Dobbs, Global Sector Chair, Diversified Industrials and a partner with KPMG in the U.S. "Moving toward a demand-driven supply chain is probably the single most important step a global manufacturer can take today."

However this could prove challenging, as Dobbs points out that "much of the supply chain technology is outdated."  In fact, 44 percent of respondents overall say they still use email, fax and mail as the means to communicate issues about demand in the supply chain. "The winners will be the ones who can network real time across their entire supply chains, reducing the information lag that costs companies significant time and money," says Dobbs.

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