The supply chain used to be simple, serial and linear, with raw materials moving slowly through manufacturing production and onward via the distribution system to retailers and end-consumers.

Today, talk is of "supply networks", "parallel chains", "enhanced concurrent activities", and "synchronised supply models", with information technology set to cut both inventory and lead-times throughout the pipeline still further.

The new supply chain model demands seamless integration of software and systems and "visibility" throughout the network so that all trading partners are singing from the same "available-to-promise" song sheet.