The DNA of Supply Chain Executives

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the November 2014 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

November 2014

Supply chain managers are on the lookout for metrics that will allow them to put a number to their progress - or lack thereof. Welcome to KPI's that allow them to demonstrate the quantifiable value that they deliver. At the same time, Murphy's Law may intervene or they may be called upon to put out fires or come to the rescue and make good on the promises sales and marketing have made to customers - regardless of the cost. So, how do you measure success? I hope this month's issue and online bonus feature help you consider how you measure your progress.

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The daily life of supply chain managers is full of challenging tasks: negotiating last-minute order changes with sales due to new customer requests; defining working capital requirements with the CFO for the next budget period; or reviewing network structures for new emerging markets with suppliers. This diversity is particularly driven by the cross-functional nature of the job: Supply chain managers interact with many departments and people within and across the firm. In a recent discussion, a plant manager in the machining industry, a passionate athlete, shared his view on the role of supply chain managers. “I am an operations guy,” he said. “I really need tenacity to bring my production forward and achieve my annual cost reduction target; I need a limited set of capabilities, in particular, staying power like a marathon runner. A supply chain manager is a different type of athlete. He needs all these cross-functional skills, should be versatile, and must coordinate well with all departments. I admire people with these skills. In athletic terms, a supply chain manager should be a like a decathlete—the king of the athletes.”

Still, little is known about the backgrounds, careers paths, and success factors of these “decathletes” who intend to make supply chain management the performance engine of the company. In a joint project, our research group from KÜehne Logistics University and McKinsey & Company intensively analyzed the gene pool to shed light on supply chain professionals’ origins and evolution. We studied the career paths and educational backgrounds of thousands of supply chain managers and hundreds of supply chain executives. In addition, we conducted numerous interviews with supply chain executives.

In this article, we provide an overview of our findings. We summarize the educational backgrounds of supply chain professionals, detail the careers that led professionals into a supply chain executive position, and present factors that enable a successful career in supply chain management (SCM).

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