The Year 2024 had its share of unique challenges as well as opportunities for corporates to embrace and explore. Just like every time, the pathbreaking companies emerged victorious, channeling through tough terrains. Since inception, year on year, the editorial team at Celerity has been able to capture the nuanced insights of industry leaders for others to take inspiration and carve their own growth story. This year too we were fortunate to bring our readers thought leadership success stories from the experts. Through this section, we offer you few of the chosen strategies covered throughout the year that will always hold importance in a supply chain professional’s strategic mandate…
Supply Chain Managers must train themselves to face every moment the unexpected situations as we are dealing with many uncertainties. Only a peaceful mind can look for a solution. Every problem has an opportunity for improvement. It is very easy to get sucked into Blame Game. Instead of blaming any person for a problem, first diagnose the root cause and create a robust process, infrastructure, trained resources to handle situations for future. Trust your people, train them, take care of them. It takes hard work to build and nurture a high performing team, it takes years and years to create top performers. There are ups and downs in the career of every professional. If you support your team in the thick of the problems – they learn and become better with every passing day.
Yogesh Sarin, Director - Supply Chain, South Asia, Dell Technologies
Embracing change and continuous learning is crucial to staying adaptable in a dynamic environment. Open mindedness & adaptability, proactive attitude to learn, welcoming feedback & focus on goals are some ways that can surely help. While there may be no one size that fit all, some of the effective learnings include upholding integrity & ethics, agility to adapt & be resilient, clear communication towards strategic direction & vision, empowerment & delegation with sense of empathy & emotional intelligence. Welcome uncertainty with passion as that is the only constant that would keep you inspired in everyday supply chain adventures. It’s ok to fail but not ok to give up!
Dirk Stolte, Supply Chain & Industry 4.0 expert
Supply Chain leaders of the future require a holistic mindset with an excellent knowledge and expertise about the end-to-end Supply Chain (E2E Supply Chain) as the fundament to challenge the status quo. At the same time, they need to have more than just an insight of industry 4.0 & digital supply chain technology developments. Understanding when to invest in which technology requires a combination of Industry 4.0 expertise and strategic foresight. The successful supply chain leader has the competence to deal with the fact that supply chain disruptions are omnipresent and unpredictable at the same time. Being able to deal with these shifts in the global economy has become a core competency for competitive supply chains. But the future supply chain leader is required to go beyond the concept of resiliency.
Rajiv Ganju, Sr. Vice President – Manufacturing & Global Supply Chain, Luminous Power Technologies (P) Ltd.
The world is becoming SMART and so are workplaces. This is the time to unlearn conventional wisdom and apply SMART tools. This is beautifully explained in the book “Break All the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. The book reveals what great managers do differently from ordinary managers to coax world class performance out of their workers. Great managers routinely break all the rules. They take the conventional wisdom about human nature and managing people and turn it upside down. Being supply chain professionals, we believe in enhancing the efficiency and the gross margins of the product. This should be the ultimate mantra of every supply chain professional. They must have the passion for supply chain and as they say, ‘Always stay hungry & curious’. I don’t shy away from stating that shamelessly emulate an already successful idea if it’s working well and is delivering what the customers want.
Saurabh Lal, Sr Director - Network Design, Logistics, Planning & Digital, Kellanova
Supply chains are undergoing rapid transformation with the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence, which can enable us to optimize our processes, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. AI and ML based systems are the future of supply chains; however, I believe that the more pressing challenge is how to address the issues of data quality, skill development, and the transition from descriptive to prescriptive analytics and planning. We need to make sure the data we feed into our new systems is accurate and reliable. This can be a major challenge for large or complex enterprises with multiple sources of data. Further, we need to train and empower our people to use the new technologies and methods. Weaning away from spreadsheets and presentation is required but perhaps not so easy.
Mayur Chhabra, Head – Supply Chain, White Cement and Paints Division, JK Cement Ltd.
‘Success doesn’t come overnight’, it takes toll on your time & efforts to become a successful leader. No wonder how many sleepless nights had gone behind the success of an individual, but I see them as an investment for a bright future / career. In this constant pursuit of becoming a leader, one needs to lead by example, not necessarily all your tasks will be super hit. There will be some failures as well. Whatever be the reason, a true leader will never get impacted by failures, rather he will prepare in much better way / work on the shortcomings / learnings to make sure that failure is turned into grand success. Remember not everyone will like you, but one needs to understand that conflict is part of the job & try to take everyone along. If any individual is able to follow the same, the transformation from an Individual to a successful leader will be seamless.
Dr. Radha Mohan Gupta, Supply Chain Strategist & Advisor and Adjunct Professor at IMT Ghaziabad
More than the product flow, supply chains are now all about the information flow. I would rather say the future supply chains will be based on information sharing ably facilitated by digital transformation. As a result, these will become supply networks. I think there will be an increased focus on end-to-end supply chain visibility and increased responsiveness. This will include leveraging IoT sensors, RFID tech, blockchain technology, and many other advanced tools. The landscape of talent will see a dramatic shift as AI will take over repetitive jobs and we would need competitive talent to work on continuous innovation. Risk management and resilience will become an integral part of the supply chain.
Aarti Garde, Sr. Team Leader – Supply Chain Analytics & Digitalization, Elanco Innovation and Alliance Centre India, IAC
In the journey towards a more inclusive supply chain ecosystem, women can break biases and build support systems through a combination of clarity, communication, and organization culture. Having clear career goals and voicing these ambitions is crucial. When women articulate their aspirations and seek support, they not only pave the way for their own advancement but also set a precedent for their colleagues. An organization’s culture plays a significant role in this process. A culture that encourages open dialogue, values diversity, and supports career development can help women overcome challenges and biases. As women receive support, they are often inspired to extend the same to their colleagues, fostering a cycle of empowerment. Lastly, it’s essential to remember that no goal is unattainable. With determination, support, and a conducive work environment, women can break through barriers and contribute significantly to an inclusive supply chain ecosystem.
Xerrxes Master, President, AMTOI
The government’s interventions are set to transform India’s logistics landscape, making it more integrated, efficient and cost-effective. Continued focus on multimodal transport solutions, enhanced infrastructure and innovative policies will be crucial for sustaining this work and addressing challenges related to funding execution and technological integration would be the key to fully realizing the potential of these initiatives. Overall, these government initiatives are poised to significantly enhance India’s multimodal logistics capabilities, boosting trade, reducing cost and supporting economic growth. Multimodalism in global logistics brings significant advantages in terms of efficiency, cost reduction, environmental benefits, and reliability. It requires substantial investment in infrastructure and technology, as well as effective coordination between different transportation modes. As global trade continues to expand, the importance of multimodal logistics will only increase, driving innovations and improvements in the supply chain industry.
The skill development landscape in India is a mix of government led initiatives, private sector participation, and community driven programs. Leading Indian corporates have recognized the need to bridge the skill gap and have partnered with training institutions to offer industry relevant skill development courses to create a workforce aligned with contemporary industry demands. Majority of the jobs @ 70% are generated in companies with manpower of less than 20 people. This is more so in the manufacturing industry, and it is therefore critical that small companies and other employers verify and validate the job roles and performance metrics from their perspective and adapt them to suit their requirements. For higher levels of competencies and expertise, exposure to practical work experience is a must. The Corporate Sector should open its doors to interns and trainees in large numbers – through on-the-job training opportunities. The corporates need to work closely with academic institutes like ITIs, which may help them design courses pertaining to industry standards and industry requirements.
Over the years, I learnt that “People are the most important pillar of the supply chain”. While technology and processes are integral, the human element remains the most critical one for translating plans into actionable results. Whether it’s managing relationships with customers or suppliers, coordinating within organizations, or responding to unexpected situations, the competence of individuals within the supply chain is paramount. In the last few years, I have witnessed several instances where systems may have crashed, but it was “people” that shouldered the supply chain and ensured delivery despite disruptions. Hence, investing in this pillar of supply chain, and recognizing the value each team member brings becomes imperative.
Satish Karunakaran, Director – Transformation, Pepe Jeans India Ltd.
As Alvin Toffler said more than 50 years ago “The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” With all of these changes happening at the same time, one of the most challenging tasks is change management within the organization. There are people with many years of experience who know intuitively this is how it works. Implementing meaningful change without actually hampering the creativity of the people is an arduous task. To ensure that things go seamlessly, it is best to engage with the key stakeholders right from the start so that they understand the context, task on hand and need for the change. Technology deployment shouldn’t be seen as merely replacing human intuition or creativity. If change management is done well, it can lead to a far more agile and motivated high-performance organization.
Customization & Premiumization are the two biggest trends that we will witness in FMCG. That is why industry players are looking to create experiences and encourage their consumers to share their experiences with the product. Many companies invest in digital capabilities to enable more personalized communication via social media and community management. We are also seeing a noticeable shift towards eco-friendly packaging and sustainable sourcing of raw materials. Another notable trend centers around consumers’ heightened awareness of product ingredients. With a focus on making swift and informed choices regarding nutritional content, consumers are actively scrutinizing product formulations. The industry is expected to witness a sustained focus on conscious snacking, striking a delicate balance between health and taste. This trend is likely to be fueled by the growing preference of the working population for convenient foods that are not only tasty but also high in nutritional value.
Yogesh Punde, Senior Industry Principal, Kinaxis
Demand Planning for the future requires planners to communicate with the stakeholder groups to enrich the forecast (the most important stakeholder being the end consumer). They must be ready to respond to any eventuality. Demand uncertainty will require more flexibility and speed from the planners. They should have a base case, best case, worst case, etc., scenarios ready to be put into action. Companies must allow segmentation strategies to help prioritize time and effort spent on different activities. While planners have been traditionally well versed with MS Excel, being future ready will require adopting new technology platforms. To remain flexible and agile, organizations will need to move from siloed functional planning to having end-to-end supply chain visibility. Concurrent planning bridges functional silos and connects all nodes in the supply chain. It provides the ability to plan, monitor and respond to supply chain changes in a harmonious environment simultaneously and continuously. This enables cross-functional collaboration and faster, more effective decision making, resulting in improved analytics accuracy, reduced planning cycles, higher profitability, and quicker response times.
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