INSIGHT adds visualization module to supply chain design tool

New interactively mapping module from the supply chain planning solutions provider is intended to help users of all expertise levels visualize inputs and outputs of the supply chain design exercise.    The supply chain planning solutions provider INSIGHT has released a new data analysis and visualization module for its supply chain design software suite SAILS.
   The new offering, SAILS Data Visualization Module, distills the essence of large, complex supply chains into a few tables intended to make it easy to display maps, graphical results or hierarchical relationships. The new data export facility is also designed to make it easy to exploit the power of familiar third party tools such as Tableau Software and Microsoft Excel.
   “Powerful visualizations of supply chain design alternatives pop out of either pre-defined or user-created Excel pivot table definitions and the pre-structured tabular data output for Tableau,” said Jeff Karrenbauer, president of INSIGHT. “Whether power user or novice, Tableau and Excel users can generate compelling, accurate, and informative data manipulation and visualization of results.”
   INSIGHT’s new capability enables both analysts and executives to probe complex questions more quickly and intuitively, providing access to data such as: total system metrics, commodity metrics, procurement analysis at the supplier and raw material level, manufacturing analysis at the facility, line and product level, distribution analysis at the facility and product level, transportation analysis at the lane and product level, product and customer segment flow path analysis.
   Karrenbauer said the visualization capability is also open-ended, so it encourages users of all levels of expertise to customize their analyses.
   “Revenue growth and cost reduction are the clear, targeted outcomes of a properly conducted strategic supply chain design study,” INSIGHT said. “Network design tools do the painstaking work of determining the right combination of supplier, manufacturing, warehousing, cross-dock and port locations, inventory levels, and transportation links. They directly address associated issues such as strategic sourcing, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain vulnerability and sustainability.”