A recent survey of more than 300 supply chain execs revealed some interesting observations:

• Only one in 10 (11%) responded that supply chain planning and execution were handled as a single, joined process.
• More than half (57%) said there was some integration of supply chain planning and supply chain execution, and
• Nearly one in three supply chain managers said there was little if any link between supply chain planning and execution.

You might think that these stats reflect a lack of interest among supply chain managers in integrating planning and execution. Nothing could be further from the truth:

92% of the pros responding to the survey said it was critical to achieve better integration in the next 2 to 3 years.

As today’s business increasingly turns to running lean and just-in-time inventory processes, more companies will be expected to plan well enough to react and then handle even more demanding requests.

The biggest barrier, as is in so many cases, is communication.

That’s where the survey from CSCO (Chief Supply Chain Officer) Insights offers a four-step progression toward achieving optimum communication across departments of any given company.

• Baseline: Poor planning between sales and ops; disconnect between supply chain planning and execution
• Phase I, the Basics: Improved feedback between planning and execution; consolidated view of customer/internal demand; closer link between ops and sales
• Phase II, Real-Time Supply Chain: Real-time visibility; networks designed to react immediately, metrics for making/supporting decisions
• Phase III, Sense & Respond Networks: Multi-level visibility; new organization methods for supply chain planning; looking ahead to new supply chain technologies