By now most supply chain professionals have witnessed countless tech investments—AI, digital transformation, IoT—stall. However, what you may not know is that it was not necessarily from faulty technology, but from a glaring lack of operational clarity. Yes, supply chains struggle with effectively communicating with each other, both between business partners and their systems. Now, imagine everyone on your team speaking a different dialect of “supply chain.” That’s the problem. Without measurable, shared operational definitions for terms like “invoice accuracy”, “inventory on-hand” or “delivery,” innovations, especially in logistics and transportation, we are destined to fail. This isn’t just inefficiency; it’s a silent killer of progress.

In this article, I’m focusing on this often-overlooked Achilles’ heel – operational clarity. First, I’ll explain precisely how operational definitions bring clarity to supply chains. More importantly, I’ll explain why they’re not just “nice-to-haves” but absolutely crucial for both achieving operational excellence and truly leveraging new technologies. Also, I’ll walk you through real-world examples of how our currently overlapping and ambiguous business glossaries are hobbling our industry. Most crucially, I’ll lay out five concrete actions you can take now to enhance clarity, accelerate tech adoption, and increase seamless interoperability finally. Please, consider this as your blueprint for the “big change” needed to compete effectively in this digital world.

5-Minute Supply Chain Tech Brief

“What gets measured gets done.”

Tom Peters

1. Types of Definitions: Operational Vs. Dictionary Compared.

First, in the context of modern supply chains, let’s discuss why standard dictionary definitions fall short in defining key business terminology. The bottom line both businesses and their machines struggle with communicating with each other when just using dictionary defined business terms. For example, in the course of day-to-day operations, misunderstandings occur for basic business terms like “shipped” and “inventory on-hand” What supply chains need are operational definitions that are measurable with no ambiguity. As a result, we would enable precise communications understandable to all, both humans and their systems. To appreciate why ambiguous dictionary definitions fall short, let’s compare the different types of Definitions, dictionary versus operational.

Descriptions of Definition Types: Operational and Dictionary

Without a doubt, these two types of definitions are significantly different. Specifically, operational definitions include an additional specification, a measurement or metric, of the term or word being described. Indeed, an operational definition provides a definitive measurement of a business term that will assure shared meaning between supply chain partners and their systems.

2. How Operational Definitions Provide More Clarity.

To recap, the description for an operational definition explicitly states that it “defines a measure”. Another way to say this is that an operational definition includes a metric, a standard for measuring or evaluating something. Especially for system-to-system data integrations, it is key that “what was sent was understood”. To illustrate, how an operational definition is far superior to a standard dictionary definition, see flow chart below. In this case, the flow chart depicts how an operational definition for a business term is used to affirm (decide) that an event, “invoice accuracy” occurred.

 Example of Using an Operational Definition: “Invoice Accuracy”

So in this case, a strong operational definition of “invoice accuracy” leaves no ambiguity. Thus within the accounts receivable process, the system or human has no doubt whether to “OK to Pay” the invoice or to reject it. To sum it up, operational definitions are invaluable within supply chains to achieve a common understanding of any things such as an event, a situation, a concept, or a business terminology.

a. Example of Where a Lack of Definition Results in Confusion.

To better illustrate how important measurements are for business definitions, let’s look at another example, Hurricane Maria that occurred in 2017. In this case, there were numerous news stories citing the number of deaths caused by the storm. Surprisingly, these new sources varied on the reported “deaths” from this storm, ranging from the official death count of 64 to much higher counts up to 4,645. Why the discrepancies? It was because there was a lack of definition of what a “death caused by the storm” is. See Craig Tickel’s article, The Stormy Truth Behind Operational Definitions for more details on this Hurricane Maria story.

Without a doubt, the supply chain industry has countless examples of ambiguity like this when it comes to ill-defined business terms. For more references and detailed discussion on the importance of operational definitions, see below.

b. More References on Operational Definitions.

• CommonCog’s article, What’s an Operational Definition Anyway?
• Advantive’s article, Operational definition
• Master of Project Academy’s article,  Why Operational Definition is Important in Six Sigma Measure Phase? on operational definitions from a Six Sigma perspective.
• SPC Software’s article, Operational Definition of a Consistent Measurement System for detailed examples of operational definitions.

“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

W. Edwards Deming

3. Examples of How Supply Chain Innovation Is Losing Its Way Due to a Lack of Operational Clarity.

Indeed, the absence of robust operational definitions acts as a roadblock to realizing the full potential of supply chain innovations. Without a shared understanding of key terms and processes, organizations struggle to align their strategies, workflows, and systems properly. This ambiguity leads to miscommunication, errors, inefficiencies, and a lack of standardization.  As a result, this adversely affects both operations and digital technology initiatives. Indeed, ambiguous business terminology is impeding technological innovation within our supply chains. Below are examples where a lack of operational clarity is hobbling technology adoption.

Examples of Where a Lack of Operational Clarity Hobbles Tech Adoption.

The Ways Poor Operational Definitions Compromise Supply Chain Interoperability

• Overlapping, Ambiguous Business Glossaries. How can we adopt data-dependent technologies such as AI if the supply chain industry cannot mutually agree on measurable business terminology? This is especially a problem with cross-border trade with many stakeholders that need absolute clarity when transmitting operational, compliance, and financial information.
• Supply Chain Visibility Requirements Not Specified. Here, we have too much data with little insights due to lack of business specificity. For instance, is visibility needed to “find stuff”, identify choke points, measure performance, or for future planning?
• The Intermodal Industry Struggles to Adopt Interoperability Tech. In this case, technology is available, but Intermodal partners struggle to both cooperation and communicate clearly. As a result, data interoperability challenges are immense between various stakeholders to include rail, trucking, ocean carriers, and 3rd party service providers.
• Data Integrations Fail to Send Actionable Information. In this case, data gets exchanged between systems, but is “lost in translation” due to lack of business definition. 
• Slow to Adopt Emerging Information Tech. Many supply chain tech projects fail due to operational clarity issues. For instance, this includes data-dependent tech projects like digital identity, knowledge graphs, digital transformation, data analytics, digital freight bill processing, and Decision Intelligence to name a few.

For more details on these examples, see my article, The Ways Poor Operational Definitions Compromise Supply Chain Interoperability.

“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.”

Grace Hopper

4. Current Business Glossaries Do Not Have the Operational Definitions to Enable Cross-Supply Chain Interoperability.

Now, here’s the painful truth: you can spend millions on the latest supply chain software, but if your business glossary is weak, you’re building on quicksand. For instance, when Company A’s “urgent order” means “ship within 24 hours” but for Company B this means “ship next available,” no amount of technical integration will prevent service failures. This misalignment isn’t just causing confusion – it’s destroying value across your supply chain, one misinterpreted term at a time. To sum it up, there are basically two major deficiencies with our current supply chain business glossaries. These include:

Deficiencies with Current Supply Chain Business Glossaries

• Business Glossaries Lack Measurable Business Definitions to Enable Understandability. The current state of our supply chain business glossaries are subject to misinterpretation, both operationally and for advancing digital innovations. 
• Overlapping Business Glossaries Hobble Collaboration and Interoperability. Without a doubt, today there is no “master” business glossary that applies to all logistics functions or is universally accepted globally. Indeed, disparate business glossaries, some proprietary, are a major cause contributing to functional data silos that are hobbling supply chain operations today.

Feeble Business Glossaries: Know It’s The Greatest Killer Of Supply Chain Collaboration And Data Interoperability

Without a doubt, business glossaries are the critical link enabling common understanding and seamless data interoperability across supply chains. Yet, the current norm for data integration projects often defaults to technical data dictionaries, which prioritize format over actual meaning. This approach allows IT departments to transfer data without technical errors, but it offers no guarantee that the data exchanged is truly actionable or insightful. This is why we need business glossaries with clear operational definitions, not overlapping glossaries riddled with ambiguous definitions. Indeed, this how we foster genuine collaboration and ensure meaningful data exchange between trading partners and their systems.

For a detailed discussion and examples of how existing supply chain glossaries fail, see my article, Feeble Business Glossaries: Know It’s The Greatest Killer Of Supply Chain Collaboration And Data Interoperability.

“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

Lord Kelvin

5. Leveraging Operational Definitions: Actions We Can Take Now to Both Improve Supply Chain Collaboration and Enable Rapid Tech Adoption.

To address business glossary challenges, supply chain leaders must prioritize robust operational definitions—the clear, measurable definitions our glossaries currently lack. Unquestionably, this requires collaborating with subject matter experts to craft specific, actionable definitions for key processes, criteria, and data elements. Moreover, these operational definitions, ideally widely accepted, updated, and accessible, will enhance clarity, fostering better collaboration, faster technology adoption, and superior supply chain performance. Below are five immediate actions to advance this clarity within our supply chains.

Steps to Establish a Unified Set of Operational Definitions for Supply Chain Glossaries

1. Create a Sense of Urgency to Fix Ambiguous Business Glossaries: They Are Hobbling Both Data Quality and Operational Excellence.
2. Adopt an Operational Definition Format for Business Glossaries.
3. Leverage Knowledge Graph Technology to Provide Definition and Context to Business Glossaries.
4. Move Toward a More Encompassing, Shared Business Glossary for the Supply Chain Industry.
5. Foster a More Collaborative and Definitive Process for the Development of Supply Chain Glossaries.

For a more detailed look at these solutions, see my article, A Refocus on Supply Chain Glossaries: The Best Way To Unlock Data Interoperability, Strengthen Collaboration And Leverage Tech

“… these operational definitions, ideally widely accepted, updated, and accessible, will enhance clarity, fostering better collaboration, faster technology adoption, and superior supply chain performance.”

A Refocus on Supply Chain Glossaries: The Best Way To Unlock Data Interoperability, Strengthen Collaboration And Leverage Tech

Need help with an innovative solution to make your supply chain systems work together? I’m Randy McClure, and I’ve spent many years solving data interoperability and visibility problems. As a supply chain tech advisor, I’ve implemented hundreds of successful projects across all transportation modes, working with the data of thousands of shippers, carriers, and 3rd party logistics (3PL) providers. I specialize in proof-of-concept and operational pilot projects for emerging technologies. If you’re ready to modernize your data infrastructure or if you are a solution provider, let’s talk. To reach me, click here to access my contact form or you can find me on LinkedIn.

For more from SC Tech Insights, see the latest articles on Interoperability, Data, and Supply Chain.