The secret to boosting your supply chain in 2014

According to the recently released December 2013 national report of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), the manufacturing industry is continuing to experience healthy growth. These are welcome words after years of uncertainty in the U.S. market. Industrial output continues to grow, U.S. manufactured products are globally competitive, and the industry as a whole is generating a significantly higher multiplier effect than any other sector.

Perhaps most telling is the significant impact manufacturing has on the overall economy, with numbers showing that the manufacturing sector is leading the continued U.S. economic recovery following the Great Recession. But not all manufacturing indexes are created equal. And according to last year's trends, there's a secret behind those experiencing the fastest, healthiest growth.

Throughout the industry, there are four major indexes that experienced strong growth in the closing of 2013: new orders, employment, supplier deliveries, and prices. And they all have one thing in common: significant data growth. A significant increase in data means companies must find a way to quickly and easily measure and monitor the way they do business or risk losing control.

New Orders

Increases in new orders mean more shipments, more purchasing orders, and more deadlines to meet to satisfy customer demand. With increasing complexity in the supply chain, there's an inherent need for more data analysis to make sure that all orders will be supplied with the right product to the right people at the right time.

Measuring the overall performance of your supply chain can be boiled down to a few key questions. Is the supply chain acquiring the things your organization needs? Is it providing customers with the things they need? And is it doing it all in the right time and for the ...