Clearly, there is a trend to move if not away from rearview-looking "scorecards" to "dashboards" that help decision makers in real time.

At this week's CSCMP conference in Chicago, Michael Maltz, Director, Global Manufacturing Logistics at the Building Efficiency division at Johnson Controls, gave a presentation on how his company improved processes and technology to increase its inventory management capabilities, focused on improving turns and availability.

As shown in the graphic below, that included a new dashboard or "Cockpit" that provides supply chain managers a real-time view into key inventory-related information.

For example, the dashboard shows planners the percent of total order value for which that demand exceeds forecast and safety stock levels. A simple click allows planners to then drill down into the details, and begin to consider corrective action steps.

We will see more and more of this type of dashboard technology over the next 3-5 years.

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