Today Chief Supply Chain Purchase Managers could be Tomorrow CEOs

Technology has changed the way business is conducted. Further on, it has also changed the way businesses interact and engage with their customers. The world we live in today is a place where we can get whatever we want right at our doorstep and the ease of movement of goods has made this a huge reality!

The "Amazon effect" has taken the world by storm and customers are now accustomed to expect the best services and deliveries without a short Turn Around Time. Got a delivery period of more than 5 days? No, your customers are likely to find your faster competitors. Speed is the new need in the new age business and if your business can't keep up, it'll soon be flushed out of the market.

This fast-spread "Amazon effect" where customers expect fastest deliveries has raised the bars for operational execution in top management for all corporates. The most demanding and competitive skill business leaders must now have is the ability to find solutions and work out systems where they get the right products at the right time to the right customers - making the process as seamless and cost-effective as possible. This changed dynamic in the corporate world has added an increased significance to the Chief Supply Chain Managers.
Corporations need more than a good revenue manager from their up and coming CEOs....

CEOs up and until now were expected to be the best manager of finances - Taking care of every minute item of expense and income in the P&L A/C and the Balance Sheet. The scope of CEOs is changing now and corporations expect to be more than just great financial managers! The focus has shifted from only looking at the millions of dollars in the P&L to an effective management of the billions of the dollars in the COGS (Cost Of Goods Sold). The new age CEOs are thus now expected to be great "Cost Managers" in addition to being great Finance Managers.
Supply Chain Leaders to become the world's greatest executives

The shift of focus from a world where best products is all that mattered to a world where best products and best deliveries and brand engagement matters, is going to put the best Supply Chain Managers in the lead. Companies today are made or broken by how good, quick and consistently they serve their customers and the Supply Chain Managers who have only worked in the limelight so far are finally going to grab the spotlight now!
Three qualities that will put the Supply Chain Managers in the front lead...

Corporate are now looking to hire the best Supply Chain Managers who have had an experience of moving thousands of products and services to an executional reality. That said, here are the top 3 qualities amongst the Supply Chain Managers that's going to put them in the front most lead.
#1 - Relentless execution

While Supply Chain Managers become the chief managers of Cost Of Goods Sold of a company, they must be "Doers" where they're needed to eye at minute details and ensure the most optimal application of each resource at hand.
#2 - Ensuring end customer delight

The new age CEOs must have an ability to juggle around with thousands of complex and dynamic details in order to ensure end customer delight. In other words, the behind-the-curtains work for CEOs can be daunting but the end goal is to ensure customer delight. Customer is again back to being the king of the market, in all its glory and entirety.
#3 - Consistency in performance

Being a good manager on one day or a couple of days or a couple of weeks too isn't sufficient now. Unlike the problems in Finance management which are likely to be critical during a few specific months of the year, the problems of Cost Management can be an everyday challenge. Being a good manager on every single day is the norm now. Consistency in performance is an un-putdownable skill every Supply Chain Manager who aspires to be the Chief Executive Officer of a corporate must have!

Corporates have realized that there's more than just being the best-at-what-we-do. Being best-at-howwe-make-our-customers-feel is the new norm today, making the significance of "Supply Chain Operators" even higher. Look out for the Supply Chain Managers to become some of the most powerful executives in the world. The transformation in the way businesses are conducted and operated is going to strike every corporate out there. And to Supply Chain Managers, there cannot be a better time to finally take the lead and oversee the changing global commerce.