Supply chain leaders continue to get increased exposure to C-level executives and Board members.
This is due to the outstanding performance of supply chain teams over the past challenging years combined with a global spotlight on the critical role of supply chain management, which is making front-page news everywhere.
Some of the most common questions supply chain leaders are being asked inside the C-suite include:
For decades supply chains have been designed with a primary focus on cost efficiency. However, as the role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rises on the corporate agenda, supply chain leaders are increasingly looking for ways to make their supply chains more sustainable. In addition, ongoing disruptions are forcing organizations to become more resilient and agile.
Coupa recently held an invitation-only small group discussion with supply chain leaders focused on purpose-driven supply chains to address these issues. I hosted the session with representatives from Bain & Company and Cisco participating along with a number of Coupa customers and prospects.
Based on the discussion, here’s a list of three things keeping supply chain leaders up at night, along with some quick tips and relevant links that provide more details and solutions:
As organizations strive to make their supply chains more resilient, building optionality with a continued focus on profitability is proving to be critical. For example, leading organizations are now developing options for nodes of the supply chain - including suppliers, production facilities, and distribution centers - as well as modes of transportation and flow paths into the market.
Keys to increasing resiliency
Download the eBook Continuous Design Outsmarts Disruption: A Blueprint for Supply Chain Resiliency
Changes in the global regulatory environment, such as Germany’s recent Act on Due Diligence Obligations for the Prevention of Human Rights Violations in Supply Chains, and the rise of sovereign supply chains, along with increased pressure from consumers and shareholders alike, are making ESG top of mind. The first key is to focus on greenhouse gas reduction through science-based targets. What will it take within your sector for you to do your part to attain science-based targets?
Keys to reducing supply chain emissions
Listen to our Webinar Balancing Profit and Purpose: How Supply Chain and Procurement Can Align for Success
Scenario planning can happen within a Center of Excellence (COE), where a cross-functional team works together, collaboratively developing agreed-upon tactics and strategies for a variety of potential crisis events. This enables quicker responses and broader company-wide alignment when crisis events begin.
Keys to preparing for crisis events
Read the Article: Optimizing Supply Chain & Sourcing in Times of Disruption
The key to accomplishing the dual objectives of profit and purpose requires very tight collaboration and alignment between procurement and supply chain teams. Working together to manage supplier relationships and risk - and actively designing supply chain networks to explicitly factor in these objectives - enables supply chain leaders to get a restful night’s sleep.
Related Resources
Continuous Design Outsmarts Disruption: A Blueprint for Supply Chain Resiliency
In this ebook, we discuss how continuous design can reduce risk, improve resilience, and turn supply chain challenges into a competitive advantage. Download Now!
Risk, Resiliency, and Supply Chain Modeling
This paper first examines why existing supply chain management practices do not naturally develop resilient supply chains and why some of the existing supply chain processes are not suitable for addressing such risks and required responses. Download Now!
Digital Supply Chain’s Evolving Role in the Enterprise Agenda
The Hackett Group 2020 Key Issues Study findings confirm that the mantra of “doing more with less” is still prevalent, but the top concern of supply chain leadership is that their organizations are in fact overcommitted, AI analytics to enable a more agile supply chain. Download Now!
Global Supply Chains in a Post-Pandemic World
In this webinar summary, Willy Shih, Robert, and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration at Harvard Business School, share insights into how global supply chains came to be the way they are and how their vulnerability has been revealed through numerous crises. Download Now!
More Resources from Coupa
Related Article: Optimizing Supply Chain & Sourcing in Times of Disruption