A year ago, in the March 2002 issue of CBR , we dealt with the perennial and difficult topic of project management. The charter of CBR calls for occasionally revisiting such foundational topics to present updated information. That's what we're doing this month.

This month's CBR focuses on the issue of "visibility," which our IT systems are supposed to provide for us. Visibility may not be the first thing that comes to mind when people think about the benefits of computerization. But it is, in fact, extremely important -- and for more reasons than the costs of just-in-case inventory. Visibility into operations provides a basis for better decisionmaking and allows us to service our customers more promptly.