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This work analyzes a pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) in terms of supply chain visibility (SCV). The current good distribution practice (GDP) guideline demands increased visibility from firms. The purpose of this paper is to propose a solution for SCV enhancements based on automatic identification (Auto-ID) technologies.

The authors qualitatively analyze data from ten case studies of actors in a PSC. A review of Auto-ID technologies supports the derivation of solutions to enhance SCV.

This work shows that the functionalities of Auto-ID technologies offered by current practical monitoring solutions and challenges created by the GDP guideline necessitate further SCV enhancements. To enhance SCV, the authors propose three solutions: securPharm with passive radio frequency identification tags, transport containers with sensor nodes, and an SCV dashboard.

This study is limited to a PSC in Germany and is therefore not intended to be exhaustive. Thus, the results serve as a foundation for further analyses.

This study provides an overview of the functionality of Auto-ID technologies. In juxtaposition with the influence of the GDP guideline, the use of our Auto-ID-based solutions can help to enhance SCV.

This work analyzes a PSC in Germany, with consideration given to the influence of current legislation. Based on a multiple-case-study design, the authors derive three Auto-ID-based solutions for enhancing SCV.

The significance of the McCulloch‐Pitts formal neural net theory is still nowadays frequently misunderstood at present, and their basic units are wrongly considered as factual models for neurons. As a consequence, the whole original theory and its later addenda are unreasonably criticized for their simplicity. But, as it was proved then and since, the theory is after the modular neurophysiological counterpart of logical machines, so that it actually provides biologically plausible models for automata, Turing Machines etc and not viceversa. In its true context, no theory has surpassed its proposals. In McCulloch and Pitts Memoriam and for the sake of future theoretical research, we stress this important historical point, including also some recent results on the neurophysiological counterparts of modular arbitrary probabilistic automata.

Stakeholders of construction projects exhibit different perceptions regarding the visibility of materials in the supply chain, which affects the timely delivery and installation of materials. This study aims to quantitatively investigate the differences in viewpoints of owners, contractors, designers and suppliers about the visibility of materials at supply chain locations and different material types during the construction of industrial projects.

Survey data about visibility at nine typical supply chain locations and three common material types were collected from owner, contractor, designer and supplier groups and analyzed using frequency statistics, relative importance index and tests for equality of odds.

Offsite Tier-2 supplier, ports and kitting site shows the lowest visibility level for the owner, contractor, supplier and designer groups. Also, the supplier group tends to have adequate to extreme visibility at the Tier-2 supplier, kitting site and during transportation compared to owner, contractor and designer groups. An example finding concerning the visibility of material types is that owners and contractors perceive prefabricated material requires higher visibility than all other material types.

The findings are limited to construction projects in the industrial sector. Further, the survey participants were based in North America at the time of participation.

The study’s findings indicate how visibility is spread across supply chain locations and for material types for the owners, contractors, suppliers and designers of industrial projects. As such, academia and industry’s research and investment efforts can be more focused on locations and material types that need improvement.

Industrial projects play an essential part in improving society’s daily lives, and this study’s findings contribute to improving the efficiency of the supply chain during construction of industrial projects.

Although previous studies mentioned the need and importance of visibility improvement, none have sought to understand the perception of leading supply chain stakeholders about visibility at supply chain locations and of material types. This study’s findings provide specific insights and directions for advancing in these areas with regard to supply chain visibility.