If somebody asked about your "digital consciousness," you might assume they were inviting you to a computer-age meditation retreat. But that's actually a term used in a new index created by the industry group MHI and consulting firm Deloitte to refer to an organization's progress toward embracing a digital supply chain mindset.

The Supply Chain Digital Consciousness Index (DCI) is designed to help organizations gauge their progress on the digitization journey, the index's developers say. Launched in the 2019 MHI Annual Industry Report, the framework lets users track their companies' progress through a series of stages—dormant, developing, heightened, and elevated.

At stake is nothing less than a company's very existence, according to the report. "Digital technologies and innovations continue to fuel escalating customer expectations for service that is better and faster, creating relentless pressure for supply chains to perform flawlessly, efficiently, and transparently. Only a digital supply chain that is agile, fully automated, and self-learning will likely be able to meet these demands and compete/thrive in the future," MHI states on its website.

Interested readers can visit the DCI web page to calculate their own company's digital-maturity score. According to MHI, the result could "help companies identify where they are on the digital supply chain journey and then chart a clearer path to where they need to go."