Every supply chain decision depends on information. From tracking stock levels in warehouses to monitoring commodities at health facilities, the quality of data available to decision-makers influences how effectively the system can respond to demand, identify gaps, and manage resources.
Since 2023, the Natview Foundation for Technology Innovation (NFTI) has been working on the Kaduna State Supply Chain Management (SCM) Dashboard, with a focus on developing a system that brings key supply chain information into a more structured and accessible reporting environment. This work has involved stakeholder engagement, process mapping, technical development, and continuous review of the data and reporting processes that underpin the dashboard. But building a dashboard is only part of the work. The more fundamental question is whether the data feeding it is complete, consistent, and reliable enough to support decisions.
Health supply chains generate information from different points in the system. Warehouse stock records, facility reports, commodity consumption figures, and logistics management systems each contribute to an understanding of how health commodities move through the supply chain. However, having multiple sources of data does not automatically produce a complete picture. Differences in reporting formats, data structures, and processes can make it difficult to compare information and establish a consistent view of supply chain activity.
As part of this ongoing work, NFTI has collaborated with the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board (SPHCB), the Kaduna State Health Supplies Management Agency (KADHSMA), and the Logistics Management Coordinating Unit (LMCU), with support from the Gates Foundation, to review the dashboard, validate its data sources, and identify improvements needed to strengthen reporting and usability.
The dashboard draws on data from mSupply, accessed through KADHSMA; the National Health Logistics Management Information System (NHLMIS), through LMCU; and reporting from SPHCB. Each source contributes information to the dashboard, but the processes through which that information is collected, recorded, and validated determine how useful it ultimately becomes.
One challenge identified during the review of reporting processes concerns the SPHCB reporting template, which lists all commodities regardless of whether they are available. This increases the burden of data entry and creates opportunities for errors. The challenge is not simply that reporting takes time. When information is entered inconsistently or required fields are incomplete, interpreting and comparing data becomes more difficult. For a dashboard intended to support supply chain monitoring, these gaps matter.
Data quality is often treated as a technical concern, but its implications extend beyond the people entering information or maintaining databases. It affects how confidently stakeholders can interpret reports, identify inconsistencies, and understand supply chain performance. To address this, NFTI Data Analytics has outlined five checkpoints for assessing data quality: identity, completeness, structure, consistency, and final review.
These checks address practical questions. Does the file correspond to the correct facility? Are the required fields complete? Are dates, numbers, and other values formatted correctly? Do facility identifiers and product codes match across related records? Has the information been reviewed for errors before it is used? Together, these checks provide a process for identifying inconsistencies before they compromise the usefulness of reported information.
For example, facility master lists must be synchronised so that records can be matched consistently across reporting systems. Tracer commodities also need to be harmonised across programmes to support meaningful comparisons. Similarly, opening stock balances must align with the previous reporting cycle’s closing balances to maintain continuity in stock records. These requirements may appear administrative, but they are essential to producing information that stakeholders can interpret with confidence.
The Kaduna State SCM Dashboard has four modules: Home Page, Stock Level Reporting, Financial Review, and Consumption Reporting. The Home Page provides an overview of facility coverage across data sources and order cycle time from warehouses to health facilities. The Stock Level Reporting module covers warehouse reporting, warehouse expiry status, facility stock reporting, and facility expiry status, while the other modules provide a structure for reviewing financial and consumption information.
Together, these modules are intended to make supply chain information easier to access and review. Yet visibility alone does not guarantee accuracy. A dashboard may display stock figures clearly, but those figures still need to be supported by reliable source records. Information may be presented in a consistent format, but inconsistencies in the underlying reporting process can limit the conclusions stakeholders draw from it.
This is why validation remains an important part of the process. It provides an opportunity to examine indicators, assess data sources, identify reporting constraints, and document the changes needed to improve the system. During stakeholder reviews, proposed adjustments to the reporting templates and dashboard have included locking automated columns to prevent accidental changes, adding payment dates, batch numbers, and remarks, and replacing the terms “Shipped In” and “Shipped Out” with “Received” and “Issued” to improve clarity in stock movement reporting.
Other proposed improvements include capturing the number of requisitions and deliveries, standardising date formats, and improving the consistency of facility and commodity records. These changes address specific weaknesses in how supply chain information is recorded and interpreted. Their value will depend on how effectively the proposed improvements are reviewed, approved, implemented, and sustained.
The work has also extended to reviewing consumption data, mSupply data, and other data sources, identifying operational constraints, and building the capacity of the State Team to use the Integrated Data Collection Tool within the SCM Platform. This reinforces an important point: reliable information depends not only on the technology being developed, but also on the people and processes responsible for collecting and managing data.
Ongoing priorities include confirming facility reporting totals against source data, verifying warehouse stock balances against mSupply, harmonising facility master lists and tracer commodity classifications, and following up on proposed dashboard and reporting-template changes. These activities help ensure that the information entering the dashboard meets the standards required for meaningful reporting.
Technology can make information easier to organise, access, and analyse. It cannot, on its own, resolve inconsistencies in source records, standardise practices across institutions, or guarantee that every reported figure is correct. Those outcomes require clear processes, coordination among stakeholders, and consistent attention to data quality.
For Kaduna State, strengthening the SCM Dashboard involves more than refining its modules. It also means addressing the reporting practices that determine what the dashboard can reliably show. Since 2023, the work behind the dashboard has continued to evolve through technical development, stakeholder collaboration, and efforts to improve the accuracy and consistency of supply chain information.
Ultimately, the value of the SCM Dashboard will not be measured solely by the information it displays, but by how reliably that information reflects supply chain activity and supports the decisions stakeholders need to make. Building that confidence begins with the data itself.
