The Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2011

Martijn Lofvers — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:52:46 +0000

This year’s report Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2011 has been coauthored by Dr. Hau Lee, Chairman of SCM World and Thoma Professor of Operations, Information and Technology at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, alongside Kevin O’Marah, Faculty Member at SCM World.

Both Hau and Kevin have designed this report to draw out the critical insights that executive supply chain professionals are prioritising across four key areas: value-driving supply chain management, globalisation, sustainability and talent management. As you will discover, the findings identify a series of key developments which suggest a change in supply chain strategy from three or four years ago.

Highlights of this study include:
• Emerging markets are now fully-fledged growth markets with an overwhelming 80% of respondents selling and delivering to emerging economies
• Sustainability increasingly forms part of the DNA for high performing supply chains, with 65% of respondents characterising pressure from senior management and the board as the source of sustainability efforts
• Talent acquisition and leadership development represent key challenges across supply chain management, with 90% of respondents agreeing that it is at least “an important issue”

In sum, this year’s research findings serve to underline supply chain’s growing role as a driver for value creation and source of competitive advantage in the global context and, in turn, the changing requirements for supply chain leaders to deliver excellence. Consequently, there is no doubt that talent management will become an increasing priority as industry looks to develop future leaders that can drive overall business performance. I feel very energised by these new perspectives and hope you will find them equally inspiring in continuing your own journey toward supply chain excellence.

Yours sincerely,
Pier Luigi Sigismondi
Chief Supply Chain Officer at Unilever

Dynamic supply chain alignment

Martijn Lofvers — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:43:35 +0000

Ten years after ‘Strategic supply chain alignment’, John Gattorna provides a new business model for the supply chains of 21st century companies. In ‘Dynamic supply chain alignment’, he explains how multiple supply chains can be established and retained, with the flexibility of responding to opportunities and threats and the capability of properly gearing towards suppliers, chain partners and customer.

Dynamic Supply Chain Alignment by John Gattorna

The four previously defined types of supply chains, continuous replenishment, lean, agile and fully flexible, are the basis of this book. These types are extensively discussed in the 28 chapters, in which existing theories about the supply chain are supplemented with new views and understanding. Gattorna, for instance, refines Hau Lee’s ‘Triple-A supply chain’ about the important role of the internal company culture. Three chapters deal with humanitarian supply chains as an example of flexible supply chains. Topical subjects like S&OP, tax-aligned supply chains and supply chains of the future are likewise discussed.

The message of the book is crystal clear: ‘We cannot keep up the conventional working methods, we need a new business model for business operations in their entirety, and for the supply chains of which companies are a part. Mindsets and corresponding practices will have to change dramatically in order to survive, in order to exist at all,’ according to Gattorna. Highly recommended for supply chain managers.

Supply Chain Movement » hau lee

The Chief Supply Chain Officer Report 2011

Dynamic supply chain alignment