According to Alexis Bateman, research scientist and director of MIT Sustainable Supply Chains at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, there are two elements to supply chain transparency:

Visibility: Accurately identifying and collecting data from all links in your supply chain.

Disclosure: Communicating that information, both internally and externally, at the level of detail required or desired.

What kind of data and in how much detail? That can depend on the business you’re in. And how much disclosure? That can depend on your corporate culture and corporate values. Beyond what’s strictly required by regulation, then, supply chain transparency means different things to different companies.

“It’s unrealistic to expect that supply chain players can collect all information all the time,” said Bateman. One grocery store chain that specializes in organic and sustainable food may go to lengths to identify, and disclose, great detail in its supply chain. Another chain, one that focuses on the lowest prices, may not want or need as much detail or disclosure. Then again, if bad news strikes — like E. coli being found in lettuce — both chains had better be able to pinpoint their supply sources well enough to be able to pull the contaminated produce.