I’ve reported on supply chains numerous times over the years. And each time I learn more about how vast, tangled, and fragile every web of sourcing is, I'm most surprised how little oversight most companies hold over their own supply lines.
Retailers often only know the names and contacts of their most direct suppliers—the first out of four tiers—leaving three levels of operation uncharted. However, recent regulation and crises—the "chip shortage," the U.S. ban on Xinjiang cotton, and the crackdown on Scope 3 emissions, to name a few—are compelling more industries to finally map supply chains from start to finish.
