Supply Chain Management Building Competencies

Expectations from a supply chain executive

Expected to be experts in supply chain functions such as transportation, warehousing, inventory management and production planning. Good relationship with suppliers and customers on a global basis even outside the firm. Acquire people with process expertise and not just functional competence.

They are a part of the executive team.

The critical character of top Supply Chain Talent

Global orientation

Systems thinking
Inspiring and influential leadership

Technical savvy
Superior business skill

Global Orientation:
SCM executives need to be globally capable. Global sourcing and supply chain have expanded tremendously for both retailers and manufacturers. They must deal effectively with suppliers and customers worldwide.

Systems Thinker:

SCM executives must embrace the added dimension of cross functional complexity and the challenge of integrating SCM as a system. They must comprehend the interdependencies across other functional departments. They should also absorb the complexity of interfaces with suppliers and customers outside the firm.

Inspiring and influential leadership:

Foster close interpersonal relationships and built credibility across the organization. Build teams and manage people Communicate their message across stake holders. Build close collaborative relationships with other functional heads.

Technical savvy:

They must be credentialed in IT systems and work closely with the CIO and his team. Must be alert to the next generation of technology tools. They must know the implementation challenges inherent in todays SCM software solutions.

Superior business skills:

They must speak the language of senior executives. They must be comfortable with financial terms like EBITDA, ROIC and profit margins. Supply chain issues are often least understood by the top management and CEO and hence must be explained in their language.

SCM Competency for Global Challenges

Nations, across the globe are reforming and liberalizing their economies to integrate with global economy to gain global advantage and sustainability. Supply chain management (SCM) has rapidly emerged as the central field of competition in many industries. The traditional supply chain is transforming fast towards a Globally Integrated Supply Chain which optimized across functions and geographies. Most of the companies are still in the early market entry stage of globalization and therefor facing a number of supply chain challenges.

Building SCM Competency

Personal effectivenes s

Strategic
Global Cooperation

Tactical

Global SCM Challenges & Capabilities

Organizational Competencies

Operational

National Promotions

Industry Collaborations

Personal Level Effectiveness

Supply chain executives must manage, like never before, and must deal effectively with suppliers and customers worldwide. Senior business executives today need to be globally capable, even though operating locally. Executives should acquire inspiring and influential leadership and superior business skills. Companies need to re-engineer the processes and functions and more importantly develop people competencies. Companies need to implement country specific actions to address challenges.

Organizational Competencies

Industry wide Collaborations

Understand constraints of various industry environments at national or at global level and try to find solutions. Collaborating among supply chain partners, industry and other stakeholders at national level to drive sector-wide improvements. National policy to focus in worldwide network of transportation, shipping, pathways by which goods are moved from the point of manufacture to end consumer.

National Level Promotions

Global Cooperation

Protecting the global supply chain is inherently an international challenge and it will take an international effort to meet it.