It’s no secret that supply chains have evolved into sprawling, tech-driven ecosystems. But despite record investment in logistics technology and analytics, a fundamental issue still plagues the industry: fragmentation.
A recent feature in Inbound Logistics asked global experts what single supply chain issue deserves more urgent attention. Their answers pointed again and again to one common thread: disconnected systems, poor data visibility, and siloed decision-making.
The Cost of Disconnection
Supply chains today span continents, partners, and platforms, yet they rarely speak the same data language. As Adeptia’s Chief Innovation Officer Deepak Singh noted, “60% of business data still arrives in formats incompatible with our systems — PDFs, scanned documents, and files that don’t connect.”
This fragmentation doesn’t just slow operations, it introduces risk. When finance, logistics, and compliance teams can’t see the same data in real time, errors multiply, from missed transportation provider credits to costly re-billing and compliance penalties. Gartner reports that 63% of supply chains remain “fragile”, unable to adapt quickly when disruptions strike.
The result? Delays, added costs, and damaged relationships across the global network.
Visibility Is More Than Tracking
Several industry leaders echoed a growing consensus: visibility isn’t just about tracking freight… It’s about integrating data across every layer of the supply chain. Andre Luecht from Zebra Technologies pointed out that as expectations rise, companies must be able to “monitor and respond to changes in real time.” That requires a foundation of connected systems, reliable data, and intelligent analytics.
Without those, real-time response remains an illusion.
The Real Urgency: Data Integration
Even with AI and automation advancing rapidly, many organizations are still held back by poor data quality and fragmented systems. In a recent JBF/Pando study, 83% of logistics leaders said that data quality is the biggest barrier to AI adoption. That’s because every algorithm, every dashboard, every forecasting tool is only as strong as the data feeding it.
To build true agility, companies must focus less on adding tools and more on connecting them.
Where nVision Global Helps
At nVision Global, we see fragmentation daily, and we help fix it. Our Freight Audit & Payment, Transportation Management, and Claims Management solutions work together to unify the financial, operational, and service sides of your logistics operations.
By normalizing global freight data into a single analytics platform, our customers gain the clarity to act faster, model risk scenarios, and pinpoint inefficiencies before they become costly disruptions. When global shippers can integrate transportation provider data, invoices, and performance analytics into one connected ecosystem, decisions stop being reactive and start being strategic.
The Takeaway
The industry conversation is clear: the supply chain’s biggest weakness isn’t a lack of technology, it’s a lack of connection.
As Andre Luecht put it, real-time response begins with integration. Until the industry speaks a common data language, every new tool and platform will only add to the noise. For global enterprises, the path forward lies not in more systems, but in smarter unification, where every shipment, invoice, and data point flows through one connected view of truth.
Because in today’s volatile world, visibility isn’t just an advantage. It’s the difference between resilience and fragility.