Picking a good supply chain manager – what are the main

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.

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

highlighted row shows that if a supply chain practitioner has responsibilities in data analytics, then they also need to know their specific supply chain, be competent in communication, building relationships and general software.

Competency areas for supply chain practitioners

Leadership Data Analytics Specialised field Knowledge Procurement & Sourcing Warehouse Management Communication

Sales & Supply Chain planning Relationships Transport & Logistics management Operations Finance & Commercial

Specialised Software Knowledge General Software Knowledge Health & Safety Shipping & Export-Import People Management Quality Management Resource Management Risk Management Knowledge of rules & Laws & Regulation Supply Chain Design Leadership Data Analytics Specialised field Knowledge Procurement & Sourcing Warehouse Management Communication Sales & Supply Chain planning Relationships Transport & Logistics management Operations Finance & Commercial Specialised Software Knowledge General Software Knowledge Health & Safety Shipping & Export- Import People Management Quality Management Resource Management Risk Management Knowledge of rules & Laws & Regulation Supply Chain Design

Massey University has found that 60% to 70% of all supply chain practitioners, regardless of their position, hold a Master’s degree. The figure below illustrates the opinions of more than 100 professors who teach supply chain management worldwide. Using a score out of ten, the figure below confirms how important different skill areas are within the supply chain profession.

Knowing the relevant Laws & Regulations

Advanced Computing Skills

Marketing and Sales

Business & Finance

Analytics

Technology & Innovation

Logistics, Transport and Storage

Supply Chain Systems Design & Analyses

Understanding International Supply Chains

Understanding Procurement and Supply

People, Culture & Soft Skills

Managing Systems & Processes

Here are a few tips that may help horticulture businesses appoint a good supply chain manager: • Applicants need good negotiation skills and an ability to think on their feet. A good negotiator will probably challenge the salary package that you offer them. • Write down all the competencies and skills that you need on flash cards. During the interview ask the candidate to sort these cards according to their own strengths ranging from most competent to least competent. A good candidate knows their own capabilities and can prioritise and organise things, even when they are quite complex and interrelated. • Use the matrix above to identify likely coinciding competencies that will be required. • Assess leadership and social skills during the interview.

Supply chain practitioners often need to cross over the boundaries of company silos and different businesses. • Check the candidate’s ability to be flexible. This can be done by monitoring how an applicant navigates their way through deliberate interruptions during the interview process. • Test the candidate’s general knowledge. A good supply chain practitioner is inquisitive and interested in a wide range of topics.