From Source to Sold — Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain

Overview

Have you ever wondered why we don’t see more supply chain leaders stepping into the CEO role? This intriguing question is at the heart of the book From Source to Sold – Stories of Leadership In Supply Chain.

While fields like finance or sales have traditionally been seen as pathways to the top, supply chain is a relatively newer field. However, the insights from more than 26 global supply chain leaders suggest that this perception is changing, and supply chain professionals possess many of the key qualities and experiences needed for executive leadership.

What Exactly is Supply Chain?

At its core, the simplest definition of supply chain is captured by the SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) model: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, and Return. These five pillars connect the crucial elements of any company that produces products.

When you are involved in the supply chain, you are orchestrating the movement of three fundamental things: goods, information, and money. Because these are the crucial elements of any company, being in the supply chain means you’re seeing everything every day, which naturally lends itself to C-suite potential.

Connecting Supply Chain Actions to Business Success

Successful supply chain work ultimately boils down to two aspects: value creation and authentic leadership.

One of the interviews highlights that any business largely revolves around three simple things: revenue growth, profitability, and cash. Supply chain actions need to constantly connect with these core business imperatives.

Breaking operations down into the primary components (plan, source, make, deliver) and ensuring each leg contributes to one or more of these dimensions keeps things simple and focused.

The Evolving Landscape: Resilience and Disruption

The supply chain world is constantly facing challenges. A supply Chain leader notes that supply chain teams must constantly push for more resilience across the supply base, operations, upstream suppliers, and downstream transporters.

Risk forecasting and resilience planning have become vital, especially in the post-COVID era, following “black swan events” that have forced companies to operate in a completely new business environment.

Adapting to changing environments, such as transitioning from “just-in-time” to “just-in-case” inventory strategies, is crucial. Anticipating volatility rather than just reacting to it is a key responsibility for leaders.

Visibility and the realization that the supply chain can be a real competitive advantage or disadvantage are growing.

Essential Qualities and Skills for Supply Chain Leaders (Synthesized from Interviews with 26 Supply Chain Leaders)

The interviews in the book outline a rich set of attributes that define successful supply chain leaders:

Problem Solvers: They are capable of moving from “it can’t be done” to “what does it take to get it done?” – believing there is always a solution or workaround.

Strategic Thinkers: They possess the ability to synthesize, simplify, and connect dots to tell a strategic story. Strategy only works if you have a culture that motivates people and helps them understand why, not just what.

Performance-Driven: They drive a performance culture and take accountability and ownership of tough decisions.

Value-Centric: Beyond just cost, they must reckon with agility, resiliency, and sustainability.

People Leaders: Great leadership involves building a great team. A key responsibility is hiring and developing people who are even better than yourself, making yourself unnecessary and fully replaceable operationally.

Authentic and Transparent: Leaders must be true to themselves and the company values. Building trust involves being transparent and not hiding mistakes.

Adaptable and Mentally Stable: A good leader needs mental stability, the ability to pivot on the spot, nurture creativity, and foster a forward-looking attitude. Adaptability (AQ) may even come before IQ and EQ.

Curious and Bold: Be curious and dare to put yourself in challenging situations. Disruptive ideas come when you challenge yourself. Successful leaders challenge the status quo and dare to innovate, sometimes needing to disrupt the system.

Collaborative: High-performing supply chains are less about processes/tools and more about people collaborating and communicating effectively. Companies need to actively dismantle siloed thinking that inhibits collaboration.

Technically Savvy: Today’s supply chain requires good operational, data, and technology skills to integrate everything. Treating data like an asset is critical.

Effective Communicators: Speaking the language of the board and linking supply chain metrics (like inventory turns) to financial and Wall Street metrics (like stock prices) is key. Adjusting communication based on cultural environment is also important.

Self-Aware and Lifelong Learners: You can’t lead others if you don’t know yourself. Being self-aware of your impact on others and having a desire to keep learning and growing are important. Senior leadership must embrace a mindset of lifelong learning.

The CHAIN Leadership Model

The book introduces the CHAIN model—a simple yet powerful framework defining the leadership attributes required for modern supply chain success:

• C — Collaborative
  Building cross-functional and cross-company partnerships to drive collective success.
• H — Holistic
  Viewing the entire supply chain ecosystem and aligning strategy, operations, and finance with business objectives.
• A — Adaptable
  Demonstrating flexibility to navigate volatility, disruptions, and rapidly changing conditions.
• I — Influential
  Inspiring and persuading, translating operational expertise into strategic narratives for executive and board-level stakeholders.
• N — Narrative-driven
  Telling compelling stories to align teams, win support, and drive organizational change.

The Path to CEO?

Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) are seen as natural candidates for CEO roles because they understand the entire operation. Their role involves managing inventory, delivery, handling disruptions, and figuring out the supply chain footprint.

However, successful moves require understanding other parts of the business too, such as innovation, R&D, marketing, and sales.

From Source to Sold is an essential read for supply chain professionals ready to step up as business leaders, and for manufacturers and distributors seeking to transform operational excellence into long-term strategic advantage.