Henkel wins second edition of SCM Global Pub Quiz

Besides causing widespread disruption in the supply chain, COVID-19 has also produced some positives – such as the new tradition of rounding off each year with a global pub quiz about supply chain management. In the second edition, quizmaster Martijn Lofvers asked the participants 25 questions of varying levels of difficulty. The Henkel team achieved the highest score and won a Knowledge Quest, facilitated by the SCM Wisdome knowledge bank.

By Marcel te Lindert

Which supply chain professor introduced the Risk Exposure Index? Which supply chain start-up ran a successful blockchain pilot with BASF, Motherson and Porsche? And which company developed an algorithm against the bullwhip effect in 2008? Even if participants didn’t know the answer to these or other questions, they could still regard themselves as winners to a certain extent, according to Martijn Lofvers, host of the second SCM Global Pub Quiz: “After all, everyone who learns something is a winner.”

Lofvers was referring to an article published in the Harvard Business Review in early November, in which the authors claim that the ability to learn has become one of the most important competencies. They quote Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, who when deciding where to invest his money looks for entrepreneurs with an ongoing learning curve as a sign that they are fast and continuous learners. Similarly, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, emphasizes the importance of learning by stating that a ‘learn-it-all’ will always outperform a ‘know-it-all’.

25 multiple-choice questions

And there was plenty to learn during the SCM Global Pub Quiz. Participants were asked 25 multiple-choice questions divided into five categories: leadership, innovation, planning, sustainability and talent development. These included some questions that, according to Lofvers, every supply chain professional should be able to answer without thinking – such as ‘Which four KPIs have the most impact on value creation, according to influential analyst Lora Cecere?’. Some questions placed demands on the participants’ historical knowledge, such as ‘How many tons of equipment were unloaded on the Normandy coast during the D-Day military operation?’.

Each of the questions was based on information in SCM Wisdome, Supply Chain Media’s digital knowledge base that includes all of the content from Supply Chain Movement. Using machine learning, the knowledge base provides each user with content that is relevant for their job. Thanks to this tool, it took Lofvers just two afternoons to put together a balanced and challenging list of questions covering a variety of topics.

Knowledge Quest

The results underlined that even supply chain professionals can learn something new, because none of the teams achieved a perfect score. Team Henkel (pictured below) emerged on top, with 17 correct answers (a score of 68%). In joint second place were the teams from Harman International, Oracle and Dare 2 Deliver, with 16 correct answers each.

The first prize for the winning team was a Knowledge Quest: a three-week programme in which Henkel employees will work on a pitch about supply chain innovation with the aid of SCM Wisdome. Lofvers explained what the prize entails: “Basically, it’s an innovation training course. Employees are tasked with deciding which supply chain start-up their company should invest in. To help them, they’re given access to SCM Wisdome for three weeks. Every day, they receive an article that helps them gain a better understanding of the company’s strategy and which start-up would be most suitable. At the end of the process, they pitch their idea to their manager.”

The answers

If you’re still pondering the questions mentioned above, here are the answers:

• Which supply chain professor introduced the Risk Exposure Index? Professor David Simchi-Levi.
• Which supply chain start-up ran a successful blockchain pilot with BASF, Motherson and Porsche? CircularTree.
• Which company developed an algorithm against the bullwhip effect in 2008? DSM.
• Which four KPIs have the most impact on value creation, according to influential analyst Lora Cecere? Growth, margin, turnover rate, and return on invested capital.
• How many tons of equipment were unloaded on the Normandy coast during the D-Day military operation? 289,827 tons.

Would you like to take part in the next edition of the SCM Global Pub Quiz? Make a note of 15 December 2022 in your diary!