YOUR INDUSTRY
Picking a good supply chain manager – what are the main attributes to look for? Supply chain teams across the globe lubricate the economic engines of the world sustaining the populations of large cities and regions where insufficient local resources exist to meet demand. By Carel Bezuidenhout : Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain Management, Massey University The horticulture industry employs dozens of supply chain managers who help to move products from farm to market. Entering a career as a supply chain manager tends to happen as part of a pathway of employment in certain industries, rather than being a goal from the beginning. At a national level, around 20 positions for supply chain practitioners are advertised in New Zealand every week. Supply chain specialists need a deep understanding of the business and tend to be full-time permanent positions. A supply chain manager’s workload is inversely proportional to the consistency of product flow through the system. A reduction in supply chain efficiency causes an exponential demand on the supply chain team’s time and creativity.
...around 20 positions for supply chain practitioners are advertised in New Zealand every week The past 18 months has seen huge disruption in supply chains which could not have been predicted in late 2019. Disruptions caused by Covid-19 lockdowns, insufficient containers and packaging material, issues at ports, and the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal have supercharged the demands placed on supply chain teams. The overall supply chain efficiency indicator dropped from 68% in March 2020 to 56% twelve months later.
42
The ORCHARDIST : MAY 2021
Advertised responsibilities range widely and include competencies in leadership, analytics, design, people management, and so on So what makes a good supply chain manager? Massey University conducts six-monthly supply chain practitioner reviews and liaises with all the large recruitment agencies in the country. One of Massey’s postgraduate students analysed all the job advertisements for supply chain practitioners published on Seek in the first half of 2020. Advertised responsibilities range widely and include competencies in leadership, analytics, design, people management, and so on. (See matrix below). Leadership related competencies were the most sought after, but the same individuals often need good technical skills, business skills and people skills. They can see and manage the big picture, but also pay attention to detail. Supply chain practitioners need to understand a wide range of areas, including transport, computing systems, health and safety, quality control, regulations and also have knowledge of particular products, their business and market channels. The matrix on the next page shows competency areas for supply chain practitioners that coincide in job advertisements with statistical significance. For example, the yellow
