Principles and Factors Influencing Visibility in Sustainable Supply Chains

Abstract

In sustainable supply chains, visibility represents the extent to which stakeholders within a supply chain have access to or share information that is key or useful to their operations and that is considered of mutual benefit in achieving sustainability objectives. Visibility in sustainable supply chain is important as it helps in the minimization of risk associated with waste and environmental footprint, while simultaneously improving social, ethical, and performance of the chain. The aim of this paper is to explore the variety of factors that influences visibility in sustainable supply chains. The study draws upon the attributes of sustainable supply chain visibility indicated in the literature and uses a focus group of experts to consolidate the attributes into factors that are perceived to influence visibility in the chains. The key principles of sustainable supply chain visibility are found to be underpinned by an extended people, process, and technology (PPT) framework that incorporates context. The study reinforces that achieving high levels of visibility in sustainable supply chains depend to a large extent on quality information, automation, green absorptive capacity, and the sharing of the information amongst the stakeholders in the chain.