A recently completed survey gauges the level of progress companies have made in five key stages of supply chain excellence: (1) internal optimization, (2) supply chain optimization, (3) advanced supply chain management, (4) e-commerce and (5) e-business. The survey was conducted by CSC Consulting (www.csc.com) and Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) (www.scmr.com), a sister publication of Modern Materials Handling.

When asked to identify their company's stage of development in seven business applications such as purchasing and inventory management, the majority of the 142 supply chain professionals surveyed said they are hovering in the basic supply chain levels. These companies are optimizing internal integration and extending integration to their supply chain partners, but they have not yet reached a level of full collaboration and Internet-enabled connectivity.

Now CSC and SCMR are teaming up again to develop an expanded version of the initial survey.

The next survey to be released this fall will include input from European-based companies. "This will enable a comparison of their progress to the progress of U.S.-based companies," says Frank Quinn, editor of SCMR.

Reverse logistics will be one major focus of the 2004 survey. "Europe is becoming increasingly strict about product accountability, particularly in the food and drug industry. How companies handle returned products will therefore be a key component of supply chain strategies," says Quinn.

Other issues and technologies to be explored further include radio frequency identification initiatives and the types and scope of strategic outsourcing activities.