In this issue: Leadership Matters

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the July-August 2021 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

July-August 2021

We all know the old saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It has been repeated so often it’s cliché. I’d like to suggest a variation: “When the going gets tough, leadership matters.” To say that supply chains have had a tough time of it would be an understatement. Despite the positive vaccine news here in the United States, global supply chains are not out of the woods yet.

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We all know the old saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” It has been repeated so often it’s cliché. I’d like to suggest a variation: “When the going gets tough, leadership matters.”

To say that supply chains have had a tough time of it would be an understatement. Despite the positive vaccine news here in the United States, global supply chains are not out of the woods yet. As we know, India is both a significant source of supply and a mess; there are credible reports of new variants and outbreaks in China, accompanied by the threat of targeted shutdowns; and the Wall Street Journal reports that Vietnam, the China Plus One destination for many supply chain managers, is now experiencing COVID outbreaks and shutdowns. That doesn’t begin to touch on the UK’s struggle with Brexit; the growing number of cyberattacks or the shortages of seemingly everything. In a recent podcast, Hannah Kain, the CEO of the global management firm ALOM, predicted that we’re going to “muddle through” for another three years.

But, in spite of all of that, the best supply chains are finding ways to perform and deliver, even with one hand tied behind their backs. The difference: Leadership.

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