Supply chain leaders face a challenging world. The nature of supply chain management has changed. As a result, supply chain leaders get more recognition for their role in supporting the business than they used to. However, the challenges facing supply chains today have rarely been more daunting. The outset of 2024 has been defined by new challenges and old complications. Skyrocketing shipping costs, logistics disruptions, economic downturn, and other significant issues ranging from the climate crisis to confrontation with labour unions are all conspiring to derail and disrupt supply chains.
In the midst of this supply chain leaders are feeling the pressure to not only mitigate risk and avoid disruption, but be a source of strategic wins for the business, from environmental reform to simple cost containment.
Without a skilled supply chain leader, organisations will struggle, and perhaps even fail. Here are the top seven skills setting today’s best supply chain leaders apart from their peers.
1. Holistic
The supply chain is no longer an appendage bolted onto the side of a larger organisation. Supply chain leaders need to take a holistic view that accounts for the entire business. The ones who succeed will drive real success for their organisation.
Holistic supply chain leadership also requires a deep understanding of the wider industry. This involves a constantly evolving understanding of events, key players, and the trade-specific knowledge underpinning the sector. Taking into account the entire value chain from sourcing through to the customer is a challenging prospect, however.
2. Daring
In an environment where risk management and resilience are prized almost as much as cost containment, risk-taking supply chain leaders might sound a bit out of place—a dying breed. They’re certainly a rare one. A recent Gartner survey found that only “9% of supply chain organisations expect to achieve revenue gains due to uncertainty.”
However, the report also pointed out that supply chain leaders who were willing to take steps to capitalise on uncertainty could also realise huge strategic wins for their organisations. After all, no one changed the world by playing it safe.
“An antifragile supply chain starts with the Chief Supply Chain Officer’s mindset,” said Tim Payne, VP Analyst at Gartner. “Rather than trying to keep uncertainty out of the supply chain, antifragile supply chains embrace uncertainty with the objective of learning, evolving and adapting their capabilities based on their improved knowledge of it.”
3. Communicative
One of the key aspects of successful supply chain management in challenging times is being able to find ways to collaborate, coexist, and drive efficiency. According to Beatrix Praeceptor, CPO of Mondi Group, “A high-performing supply chain is not so much about processes and tools as about people collaborating and communicating effectively.”
Supply chain leaders need to find ways to drive end-to-end collaboration throughout the value chain. Those that do will end up creating tangible benefits for their stakeholders, partners, and customers alike.
4. Digitally Driven
Procurement is becoming a more digitally transformed discipline every year. With 2024 expected to see generative artificial intelligence adoption, increased automation, and a surge in the number of electric vehicles throughout supply chains, leaders will need to be able to evaluate new technologies from a point of authority.
Digital transformations guided by overexcitement for a shiny new toy you don’t understand are just as dangerous as holding off on embracing technology out of fear or stubbornness. An effective supply chain leader needs to understand the technology they’re using. They also need to understand the market and what’s available to them so they can effectively communicate with vendors about their organisation’s IT needs and advocate for technology solutions that support their goals.
5. Agile
It goes without saying that supply chain leaders who are able to prepare, respond, and find ways to turn crisis into opportunity will have a huge advantage in the supply chain sector. The industry itself is in a state of constant disruption. From Houthi attacks in the Red Sea to the worsening effects of the climate crisis, supply chains have rarely looked more precarious.
As a result, supply chain leaders need to be ready to adapt quickly in order to alter their strategies as demanded by the changing circumstances around them.
6. Inspiring
The supply chain is the lifeblood of a modern business. It traces the story of a product from its raw materials and creation to the customer, and supply chain leaders are the architects of that story. However, the ability to convey that purpose and inspire those around them might be one of a supply chain leader’s greatest tools.
Employees who recognise the importance of their work are more likely to work harder, longer, and create better output.
7. Ethical
Supply chains will play a significant part in whether or not we can overcome the challenges posed by our world. Every supply chain that starts with deforestation, slavery, strip mining, and other objectively unethical practices is complicit. Every supply chain that passes through a sweatshop, uses forced prison labour, or endorses a fascist regime by doing business within their borders is complicit.
A heavy ethical burden has been laid at the feet of supply chain leaders. While there may be increased pressure from consumers and stakeholders to improve ESG throughout many organisations, without champions in the supply chain, change will be slow, incremental, and keep many organisations mired on the wrong side of history.
- People & Culture