According to a recent survey done by Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium, companies are now more likely to have executive-level supply chain leaders. Nearly half of the retail and manufacturing companies who responded have a supply chain leader at the executive vice president level or above (the chart below shows a breakdown by industry.)
"With supply chains becoming more dynamic and agile, organizations need to able to keep up with the pace," says Bruce Tompkins, executive director of the consortium and author of the briefing. "And these companies are beginning to realize the significance of having a high-level supply chain executive influence their business strategies."
Companies seem to be realizing that the supply chain can be a fundamental value driver in an organization, but in order for this to happen, procedures need to be in place across the board to ensure the entire supply chain runs as smoothly as possible. By having a voice high up in the executive level of a company, supply chain teams can ensure that supply chain management tactics are taken into consideration when operational decisions are made.
Although this is progress, some companies still have improvements to make when it comes to collaborating: about a quarter of the respondents said they have no formal process for aligning supply chain goals. If a company is large and has several different business units, it can be a problem if these units don't communicate with one another. Even if each unit has its own supply chain, it will benefit everyone to share ideas and best practices.
To read a summary of the survey findings, please refer to this SDCExec article: Executive-level Supply Chain Leaders on the Rise.
