Quality is not a one-time initiative or project, nor is it an implementation of checklists, processes, and programs once or twice and call it good. Instead, it is an organizational culture that leaders must promote at all levels of the supply chain organization. The demand for quality products has never been stronger, and the supply chain has a unique opportunity to demonstrate its value as an operational partner with strategic insight and impact on product quality. Unfortunately, for too many supply chain leaders, promoting a culture of quality may seem like an oxymoron. After all, how does promoting something that directly contrasts with ineffective behavior help improve it?
But these leaders also understand that their company’s ability to deliver great products will remain subpar unless they take deliberate steps to promote quality culture. Instilling a culture of quality requires keeping the focus on creating a positive experience for every customer, partner, and employee at every touch point along the way.
Top Supply Chain Leaders
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Sheri R. Hinish
Sheri is world famous as the supply chain queen and has a unique point of view on achieving sustainability innovation in the supply chain. Sheri R. Hinish is a People Choice 2020 Global women in supply chain leader and is a global executive partner and practice leader for sustainable supply chain and circularity at IBM.
Sheri is a catalyst for innovation and helped connect the dots of trends in the supply chain and build strategies for Fortune 500 companies.
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Kelly Bengston
Kelly Bengston is currently Starbucks’s Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. During her 8-years of relationship with Starbucks, Kelly initiated direct and indirect sourcing, store development, and commercialization for Starbucks. As a senior leader, she created a new team to bring digitization to the Starbucks supply chain, strategically align resources against priorities, and build supply chain intelligence.
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Jim Townsend
Jim Townsend describes himself as a disruptive, tech-savvy, and result-oriented supply chain leader. Currently, he is a Chief Procurement Officer at Walgreens Boot Alliance.
“Retail and healthcare have revolutionized over the past five years, and the pandemic has further accelerated development within these sectors. As a result, customers and patients expect increased convenience through digital omnichannel experiences and greater value, transparency, sustainability, and diversity,” Townsend quoted.
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Jim Connell
Jim Connell is a Chief Procurement Officer, and Head of Global Supplier Service at JP Morgan Chase & Co. Connell is behind the Gold supplier program for strategic alignment, supplier engagement, and stakeholder feedback. The gold supplier program growth plans have almost 40% impact, and they are expected to increase the diverse spend by $6.2bn over the next three years. In addition, Jim Connell mentored suppliers in building their diversity programs and promoting greater discoverability for diverse suppliers.
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Melani Wilson Smith
Melani is a data-driven supply chain leader with the ability to innovate and manage supply chain and value. She is PepsiCo’s chief procurement officer and worked for Hilton as Vice President of Global Business Services. She is accountable for sourcing and procurement across PepsiCo’s enterprise and supplier relationships value chain.
Supply chain leadership example
The supply chain leader plans for disruption by design
A Supply chain leader builds a strong team
The supply chain leader creates a culture of innovation
The supply chain leader leads by example, and he or she is a change agent as well
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is the product development and process optimization from sourcing and procurement to production, fulfillment, and delivery. It is a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in moving goods from supplier to customer.
The goal of supply chain management is to provide customers with a seamless, efficient, and cost-effective service.
Supply chain management can be divided into two main categories: inbound logistics and outbound logistics. Inbound logistics manages the flow of materials, parts, or goods into a company’s facilities. On the other hand, outbound logistics is all about managing the flow of goods or services from a company’s facilities to customers.
The benefits are as follows:
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Increased productivity
- Reduced inventory costs
- Reduced risk
Supply Chain Leaders’ Salary
Supply chain leaders are responsible for managing the entire supply chain of an organization. With the rise of the global economy, companies are getting more competitive. Therefore, they need to find ways to improve their supply chain to stay afloat and thrive.
A company’s supply chain is integral to its success, starting with the leadership team. The salary for a supply chain leader can vary depending on where they live, how much experience they have, and what type of company they work for.
For example, in India, a senior executive would earn about USD 150K per year, while in North America, it would be around $200K per year. The higher the salary, the more responsibilities they have to take care of in their job.
Supply chain leaders are responsible for ensuring that the supply chain is running smoothly and efficiently. They are accountable for the company’s entire supply chain process, from procurement to sales and distribution. The industry has a high demand for these professionals, so there is a lot of opportunity to move up in this field.
Leaders in Supply Chain and Logistics
The supply chain and logistics industry are one of the most rapidly changing industries in the world. It is also one of the most important industries in our society.
The leaders in this industry are those who have created a sustainable model that can be replicated and adapted to meet the needs of their customers while still delivering on their promises to them. Many leaders in this industry have managed to do this, but some stand out from the rest.
These companies have not only been able to maintain a sustainable business model, but they also have been able to increase their profits year after year because of it.
One of these companies is DHL.
DHL was founded in 1882 and has since grown into a global logistics company with approximately 350,000 employees operating in over 220 countries. The company has been able to grow by continually adapting its business model to meet the needs of its customers and adapting its strategies accordingly.
They have also been able to save money through innovations such as predictive analytics that allow them to predict when packages need to be sent out, which helps them minimize costs and increase profits.
Conclusion
Leaders committed to embedding a quality culture into their supply chain organizations understand that they must develop a quality mindset, provide the tools and resources necessary to reinforce this mindset, create tangible incentives and rewards that encourage continuous improvement, and instill a disciplined approach to measuring quality.
In addition, these leaders understand that it is not enough to adopt programs, processes, and tools; a true commitment to quality cannot be realized without leadership behavior that inspires a culture change.
