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Article Highlights:
- Tracking suppliers, parts, products, and all the other forces that shape supply chains is an extremely complex task, and many businesses don't have the expertise to execute it internally. Supply chain visibility software is a tool that was developed specifically to address this gap, and it helps companies leverage the data and intelligence of an experienced third-party data platform.
- Based in Santa Clara, California and founded in 2016, Z2Data is a supply chain risk management company that helps organizations understand all the threats in their manufacturing networks, including geopolitical risks, sourcing dependencies, financial vulnerabilities, and production concentrations, among many others. One of the primary ways that Z2Data achieves this is by expanding the supply chain visibility of their customers.
- Organizations that maximize their supply chain visibility can identify risks before they turn into disruptions, filter vulnerable manufacturers out of their supply chains, and bolster critical sourcing dependencies with strategic risk management measures.
Over the course of this decade, supply chain visibility has transitioned from a relatively niche concept to a mainstream priority, one embraced by a growing contingent of businesses. Organizations in industries ranging from automotive to consumer electronics to aerospace and defense are increasingly recognizing the way supply chain visibility contributes to resilience, risk management, and production continuity.
The term "supply chain visibility" refers to an organization's ability to see into every aspect of their manufacturing network, including:
- Suppliers
- Sub-tier manufacturers
- Factories and other production sites
- Components
- Raw materials
- Transportation routes
- Logistics networks
- Warehouses
In a previous piece on supply chain visibility, we defined the term as the "ability to identify, track, and monitor a supply chain at every stage." Visibility entails not just monitoring every stage of the production process—raw materials, sub-tier manufacturing, assembly and testing—but also having the capacity to analyze all the variables outlined above. Businesses with top-tier supply chain visibility should be able to probe suppliers, sites, and critical dependencies, gaining a clear understanding of their supply chain's strengths and weaknesses.
What Is Supply Chain Visibility Software?
Tracking suppliers, parts, products, and all the other forces that shape supply chains is an extremely complex task. Many businesses simply don't have the resources or expertise to execute it internally. Supply chain visibility software is a tool that was developed specifically to address this gap, and it helps companies compensate for their limitations by leveraging the data and intelligence of an experienced third-party data platform. The industry-leading products in this space all feature a number of critical capabilities, functionalities that all contribute to visibility, resilience, and risk mitigation:
- Supply chain mapping
- Sub-tier data intelligence and supply chain relationships
- Part-to-site mapping
- Supplier profiles and risk scorecards
- Risk evaluations for manufacturing sites
- Intelligence linking suppliers, sites, and manufacturing part numbers (MPNs)
- Site dependencies
- Sourcing status at the site, manufacturer, and regional levels
- Supplier campaigning
Although the goal is simple enough—see into your supply chain—the difficulty level is high. Few, if any, companies have complete visibility into all aspects of their production network. Because of this, organizations should strive to gain as much transparency and traceability as possible, using software that combines customer data with internal databases and supplier surveying.
Companies that leverage supply chain visibility software can expect to see into the operations of more suppliers, shed light on more manufacturing relationships, and gain a superior understanding of how all the dots in their supply chain—parts, products, suppliers, and sites—connect to one another.
The Top 9 Supply Chain Visibility Software Tools
Z2Data
Based in Santa Clara, California and founded in 2016, Z2Data is a supply chain risk management company that helps organizations understand all the threats in their manufacturing networks, including geopolitical risks, sourcing dependencies, financial vulnerabilities, and production concentrations, among many others. One of the primary ways that Z2Data achieves this is by expanding the supply chain visibility of their customers.
The SCRM tool uses a proven three-step formula for mapping supply chains. First, experienced teams define the scope of a customer's supply chain, using bills of materials (BOMs) and parts data. Next, they map the customer's supply chain by drawing on three different data sources: Z2's internal databases, customer information, and supplier campaigning. Finally, they work with customers to maintain relevant, up-to-date maps, continuously monitoring supplier websites, product change notifications (PCNs), and other key sources for developments that impact the supply chain.
Z2 also recognizes the importance of connecting individual components and subassemblies back to their manufacturing origin. To address this, the software provides part-to-site mapping that traces parts and other products to their specific manufacturing sites, providing customers with actionable intelligence on their direct manufacturers, country of origin (COO), country of diffusion (COD), and site origin. All part-to-site mapping uses a systematic process that draws on a range of high-credibility sources and human verification methods.
Finally, Z2 is known for excellent out-of-the-box parts coverage, and can immediately trace parts to manufacturers and sites for up to 80% or more of components for some customers. With the company's full mapping service, many businesses eventually reach close to 100% coverage for their parts.
Key Capabilities
- Supply chain mapping
- Sub-tier intelligence
- Part-to-site mapping
- Data integration and normalization
- Sourcing and dependency analysis
- Comprehensive out-of-the-box parts coverage
- Supplier campaigning
- Country of origin, country of diffusion, country of assembly, and other trade information.
- Continuous supply chain monitoring
Notable Customers
- Qualcomm
- Palo Alto Networks
- Teradyne
- Dozens of other companies in technology, automotive, electronics, medtech, and aerospace and defense.
Project44
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Project44 is a "decision intelligence platform" that helps companies gain visibility into their logistics and supply chain operations. Project44 tracks over one billion shipments across 180 countries every year, allowing organizations to see into the logistics that drive their manufacturing networks. The company uses "AI orchestration" to monitor global shipments for risks, delayed deliveries, and other emerging disruptions.
Industries
- Automotive
- Chemical Manufacturing
- Food and Beverage
Altana
Founded in 2018 in New York, New York, Altana is a supply chain risk management firm that leverages AI and other tools to create supply chain maps for businesses of various sizes. Altana works with organizations to identify, analyze, and mitigate risks across their supply chain, including sub-tier relationships, manufacturing dependencies, and noncompliance vulnerabilities. Altana leverages a "shared network" that integrates manufacturers, logistics firms, and government agencies on a single centralized platform.
Industries
- Aerospace and Defense
- Medical Devices and Technology
- Government Agencies
Interos
A supply chain risk intelligence software founded in 2005 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Interos identifies and assesses risk across six key domains: finance, geopolitics, trade restrictions, ESG, natural disasters, and cybersecurity. One of the firm's flagship products is Resilience Watchtower, a tool that allows businesses to contextualize their supply chain data with risk models and other features that shed light on risks, vulnerabilities, and high-priority suppliers.
Industries
- Energy
- Aerospace and Defense
- Financial Services
Exiger
Unlike many of the other supply chain visibility tools on this list, McLean, Virginia-based Exiger draws a large portion of its customer base from government agencies, defense contractors, and other players in the U.S. military-industrial complex. The company's central platform, 1Exiger, provides supply chain mapping that traces parts and materials to direct and sub-tier suppliers, countries, and sites, forming the basis for a myriad of other traceability-related features.
Industries
- Defense
- Public Sector
- Energy
6. Sphera
Another supply chain visibility software company based in Chicago, Sphera was founded in 2016 to serve as a risk management tool for large industrial customers in energy, manufacturing, and chemicals. Sphera utilizes AI to help provide supply chain mapping, while also maintaining risk scorecards for global suppliers. In addition to supply chain visibility, the company offers regulatory compliance and compliance assurance services.
Industries
- Automotive
- Food and Beverage
- Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences
7. Prewave
Founded in Vienna, Austria, in 2017, Prewave leverages artificial intelligence to detect risk signals across its customers' supply chains. The company's AI technology crawls publicly available information in over 120 languages to glean the manufacturing landscape for signs of well over 100 types of risk, including factory incidents, financial distress, natural disasters, and cyberattacks, among many others.
Industries
- Automotive
- Manufacturing
- Energy
Visibility Is the Foundation for Risk Management
In the past, we've discussed how supply chain maps are the foundation of robust risk management programs. As we wrote in 2024, "Businesses operating today must navigate labyrinthine supplier networks that span multiple continents and manufacturing tiers, regulatory environments that are increasingly restrictive and scrutinizing, and protectionist trade policies with serious financial consequences for firms that fail to adapt." It's possible that these factors loom even larger today than they did two years ago, as volatility roils global supply networks and geopolitics continues to creep into trade compliance from the U.S. to the EU to China.
Organizations that maximize their supply chain visibility can identify risks before they turn into disruptions, filter vulnerable manufacturers out of their supply chains, and bolster critical sourcing dependencies with strategic risk management measures. But it all starts with seeing into the ecosystem that connects your parts to sites, suppliers, and regions all over the world. It all starts, in other words, with supply chain visibility and the tools that make it possible.
To learn more about Z2Data's supply chain visibility software, schedule a free trial with one of our product experts.
