Y where every player tries their best to remove a block from the bottom of a tower of wooden blocks and place it at the top without crashing the whole structure. Reminiscing the memories, are you?
ou might be familiar with the game of Jenga,
Wondering what Jenga has to do with this edition of “The 10 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain 2022?” The answer is quite simple. The game of Jenga resembles the supply chain industry in every way possible. From improving problem-solving skills, patience, cognitive performance, strategic planning, mental flexibility, and focused concentration, Jenga teaches multiple aspects of business workings relevant to staying ahead in the cutthroat market.
On a good or bad note, the business world left behind the horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the supply chain industry witnessed a tenfold growth than it would have earlier. Where people struggled with numerous challenges, the supply chain was paving the way for its triumph with resilient efforts, supporting different market sectors in every possible way.
Now think, if the supply chain had crumbled like the game of Jenga, the repercussion would have been devastating, which is difficult to imagine. Women leaders in the supply chain instilled a strong feeling of safety, overcoming various challenges daily to lead from the forefront, becoming a shining glimmer of light through the darkness.
By collaborating with a passionate supply chain community, these leaders offered a unique perspective by sharing their experiences, insights, and trends and innovating best practices for sustainable and seamless supply chain operations.
Today, almost every industry depends on the supply chain to carry out significant tasks. It was only made possible
when the leaders in the niche could build confidence by investing their valuable time expanding their networks externally and internally to place blocks on the top.
Learn more about how these leaders are planning to move ahead in the future by embracing changes and developing a sustainable business chain, maintaining the blocks' rooted foundation while achieving higher feats.
Don't miss out on the articles written by our excellent in-house editorial team that sheds light on the industry insights that will provide you a crystalclear vision of how technological advancements will change the face of the supply chain. Ready to play?
aditya.gaikar@insightssuccess.com Aditya Gaikar
Andrea Pires, Supply Chain Director
Alma Arzate Director, Global Supply Chain Logistics
Irasema Calvo Sr. Supply Chain Manager
Mariam Saad Director of Procurement
GRSA offers healthy and balanced food solutions, with the highest quality standards and according to the needs of each customer. GRSA, grsa.com.br
Apotex Inc. is a proudly Canadian, global pharmaceutical company. Apotex apotex.com
Lucira Health lucirahealth.com
TELUS telus.com
Maria P. Villablanca Co-Founder and CEO Future Insights Network futureinsights.org
Monique Alblas VP, Consulting
Shimon Gowda Manager, Supply Chain Design Practice
Sarah B. Humphrey Podcast Host & Founder
Tanja Dysli Chief Supply Chain Officer
Wendy Herrick Vice President Digital
Lucira Health's technology is transforming - reduce the spread of infectious diseases by bringing accurate, easy-to-use selftesting into the home.
TELUS, is building a better future for all Canadians by using technology for good and giving back to our community.
Future Insights Network is the next-generation community of business leaders.
GEP® delivers transformative supply chain solutions.GEP gep.com
Chainalytics chainalytics.com
Let's Talk Supply Chain letstalksupplychain.com
IKEA ikea.com
Unilever unilever.com
For 20 years and counting, Chainalytics has been the leader in data-driven supply chain transformations.
Let's Talk Supply Chain features the top of the industry, diverse voices from within the community, new innovation and the disrupters making waves.
IKEA offers well-designed, functional and affordable, highquality home furnishing, produced with care for people and the environment.
Unilever portfolio ranges from nutritionally balanced foods to indulgent ice creams, affordable soaps, luxurious shampoos and everyday household care products.
tarting a career at the age of 15 and leading several
S areas like marketing, construction, and maintenance is remarkable, especially if a person has to make a mark in an industry dominated by the opposite gender.
Challenges make a woman strong and capable in whichever field she is. By successfully overcoming all challenges thrown at her, a dominant leader found her calling to the Supply Chain Management niche of all the areas. Meet Andrea Pires, the Supply Chain Director of GRSA, Brazil. Andrea has been associated with the supply chain management field for more than 25 years. Her experience has taught her to value the people and partners who have helped her get to today's place. She believes in building a strong rapport with everyone around her to achieve a collective growth goal.
Andera has been lending her valuable knowledge and expertise to GRSA to strengthen the company's prospects in the SCM domain. Her company is the largest in the world in the foodservice segment. Andera's mission is to continue the high standards set by the company so that her personal and professional targets are achieved. She aspires to be a great leader helping her team get better each day.
We at Insights Success interviewed Andrea to get a brief idea of the principles she works on.
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at GRSA. What challenges did you have to overcome to reach where you are today?
I started working when I was very young -15 years old. At the age of 20, I joined Wal-Mart Brazil, and that was the first time I had contact with the supply chain field as an assistant buyer.
I loved the experience and decided to make my career in this area. At Wal-Mart, I had very relevant opportunities, which led me to stay at the company for 13 years until I reached the position of General Food Director. I left WM to join IMC, a Brazilian company administrated by Advent, an important investment fund. In IMC, I also worked for over 13 years and had opportunities to lead several areas, like marketing, construction, and maintenance. After that, I accepted the challenge of joining GRSA|Compass, a company that I joined in May 2021.
I could speak for hours about the challenges I had to overcome along with my career, such as prejudice for being a woman inside an area led, mostly by a man. But none of these challenges was a problem for me. Actually, all the difficulties made me grow as a professional and as a human being.
Tell us something more about GRSA, and its mission and vision.
Compass Group is a British company founded in 1941, being the largest company in the world in the Food Service segment. It is present in all continents, operating in more than 45 countries, and has over 50,000 customers around the world and over 550,000 employees.
In Brazil, Compass is represented by GRSA, which has been operating in Brazil for over 40 years and is among the leading companies in the group catering segment, with more than 1,200 service points, including restaurants and cafeteria, serving more than 1 million meals a day.
Our mission is to offer complete solutions to our customers, supporting them with all the solidity and high-quality standard of the Compass Group. Our business is to serve. That's why we have specialized teams and differentiated solutions in each segment we operate.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact on the food services through your expertise in the market.
I have been working in the supply chain for over 25 years. I believe if you want to be successful in this business, you need to have a strong relationship with your partners. There is no success when you don't understand the value of your suppliers. In the retail business, even though you know, they need your space to sell their items, without a good relationship, you cannot move forward.
In the food services, this is even stronger. You have the same vendors with lower volumes to be your partner. So, you need to build strong alliances to be able to serve your clients and offer a quality service as expected.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.
Our Vision is to be a world-class supplier of food and support services, ensured by our team, the service we offer, and our best results, with the mission of consistently and
providing excellent services, generating benefits for all.
What we collectively believe and what guides our behaviours are:
Trust, and Integrity.
for Quality.
through teamwork.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
It is estimated that the volume of data created in the last two years is greater than the amount produced in the entire history of humanity, so I believe that data are our great treasures. But, availability, analysis, and the correct interpretation are needed so it all can be used to contribute
to decision making and to improve planning processes throughout the Supply Chain.
That is why we have invested in systems and processes that can integrate the entire supply chain and provide us with insights for a more assertive demand forecast, in an increasingly optimized transport, reducing fuel consumption and CO² emissions, in the correct management of inventories, in customer segmentation, making the Supply Chain increasingly transparent, with a higher level of automation and optimization, with reduced inefficiencies and risks, providing an improvement in the level of service delivered to the customer at lower costs.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the Supply Chain industry?
I believe that the main challenge in the Supply Chain after the beginning of the Covid Pandemic is demand forecasts, as pre-COVID forecast models do not have great relevance, and models developed in the last two years may soon be underutilized due to sudden changes that end up causing
Difficulties made me grow as a professional and as a human being.
shortages or excesses of stock, loss of revenue and a low level of customer service. Considering omnichannel sales and sudden changes in consumer behavior, forecasting becomes even more complex, so the old ways of forecasting demand simply don't work anymore.
That's why I would use my chance on systems and processes that can work on demand forecasting more frequently and based on high-quality, real-time data for greater accuracy, better customer service, and lower costs. I believe that this is an important path for the supply chain.
What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Supply Chain industry? How is GRSA preparing to be a part of that change?
In recent years, supply chain disruptions around the world have increased significantly. The pandemic is one of the factors that impacted this field, but the political scenario, natural disasters, economic crises, wars as the most recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine also directly influence supply interruptions and are extremely harmful to the Supply Chain Industry.
Considering all these factors, the big change expected is a more resilient, dynamic, and agile Supply Chain that can adapt quickly and mitigate interruptions. Technology is important and can really influence Supply Chain agility, but I believe that three elements are also key:
•Investment in the team, because Supply Chain professionals are prepared to adapt to sudden changes. Technology helps, but nothing replaces a well-trained and engaged team.
•Select reliable suppliers that allow solid and lasting partnerships.
•Continuous improvement: technology plays an important role in the continuous development of the Supply Chain, but it is people who play an essential role in the search for innovation and continuous improvement.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for GRSA?
GRSA is a huge company with a worldwide presence. It would be great if I had the opportunity of working in another country and lead a different group.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the supply chain sector?
I would say that the supply chain field is challenging, dynamic, passionate, and certainly important. It's gamechanging; if you buy right, you sell right. So, you have to be well informed about the market, and you need to have strong relationship skills and be a great leader. And work hard all the time. If a professional feel comfortable with it, so, will be successful in this business.
Life is uncertain, and the only constants are growth and challenges. If one perceives the problems as opportunities to improve, growth is inevitable. Similarly, when it comes to the supply chain industry, challenges prove themselves to be a great way to grow professionally. Overcoming these challenges every day with the support of a diverse team of 140 supply chain professionals is Alma Arzate
Alma is the Director of Global Supply Chain Logistics at Apotex . Driven by her goal to deliver transformational results, her global experience has been built over two
decades across the supply chain and operations. Her background and expertise are multi-faceted. However, her passion lies in bringing order from chaos, whether it be through people development, systems implementations, or processes improvements, leveraging all of her first-hand experiences gained from the Automotive, Electronics, Medical Devices, CPG, and Pharma industries.
In an interview conducted with Insights Success, Alma sheds light on her professional journey to become an inspirational leader how she constantly aims to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
Alma Arzate Director, Global Supply Chain Logistics Apotex Inc.
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Apotex. What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are today?
I am originally from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Juárez is the sister city of El Paso, Texas, United States. Together with the surrounding areas, these two cities form the second largest binational metropolitan area on the Mexico-U.S. border, with a combined population of over 2.2 million people. There is a thriving maquiladora industry, with over 300 multinational companies operating in my hometown, so this is where I started my career. Supply Chain was never highlighted as a possible career pathway while I was attending the Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Juarez, where I completed my B.B.A., or the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, where I completed my M.B.A. When I learned that there was a vacancy as a Buyer, Indirect Procurement in the same company I was working for, I decided to apply. This was a couple of years after graduation. I only had Finance experience, but the hiring manager decided to take a chance on me. I really enjoyed the fast pace, how I had to be resourceful to help resolve many challenges, and being able to make tangible contributions to support the business. Once I came over to the supply chain side, I never left.
There have been many challenges that I have had to overcome; just to name a few: the supply chain has been and still is a male-dominated field. I have been the only woman in the room more times than I can count. I have also been put in new positions where there was no one else before me, and I had to find my own way, sometimes even having to write my own job description! Then, as I chose to restart my career in Canada 14 years ago, this required a lot of perseverance to achieve a successful integration into a new country, culture, and workplace expectations. The lack of female role models has also been a challenge throughout my career, but luckily, I have had a lot of kind and supportive male role models and sponsors that have helped me get to where I am today.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the Supply Chain Industry.
For many years, I have been focusing on whatever time I can spare to lift others. Despite my sometimes hectic professional and personal life, I am passionate about actively supporting multiple initiatives related to supply chain, education, women, and immigrant advancement. My hope is that whoever attends these events will learn from
my journey and the many obstacles I have had to overcome to find my voice and be recognized as a leader, and through ongoing dialogue, they will also be inspired to find ways to continue to persevere, achieve their own dreams, and become the best version of themselves.
I am an enthusiastic supporter of the co-op program at Apotex Inc., where so far, more than 15 students from many Universities have greatly benefited by acquiring relevant supply chain experience. I aim to crush barriers for women wherever I go and try to inspire female supply chain professionals to reach forward and accomplish their dreams. On immigrant-related initiatives, I have been a keynote speaker for many organizations, supporting Canadian newcomers to ease their integration into the Canadian work environment and even hiring many of them.
I would like for my mark in the supply chain industry to be helping others to succeed. This is an extremely rewarding way for me to give back to the profession, as I am helping pave the way for future leaders that will eventually rise to prominent positions within our companies.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization. Apotex’s culture is guided by our core values of Collaboration, Courage, Perseverance, and Passion. They inform how we work and how we connect internally and externally with our customers, partners, and other stakeholders. We have an incredible team of bright, passionate, and committed individuals who are proudly dedicated to our mission of bringing a growing array of high-quality, affordable medicines to healthcare systems in 115 countries around the globe.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
– Peter Drucker
The 10 Most Influen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022
We invest in continuous learning and development to support employees in expanding their capabilities and reaching their career aspirations. Our leadership team is fully committed to fostering and encouraging an environment for learning and development. This is complemented by robust training to ensure our employees have the latest industry knowledge and expertise to continue to excel in their roles. Connecting with our internal talent is key to ensuring our organization’s sustainable growth. We prioritize and consider Apotex employees for all available career opportunities across the organization to support their career development and drive business success.
Working at Apotex also means working for a company that recognizes the obligations that come with success. That is why we are proud to provide significant support to a variety of charitable organizations and community groups in Canada and around the world and to invest in the universities where many of our employees earned their degrees.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Apotex? I can see myself continuing to expand my responsibilities, leading multiple teams, giving each and every one of my
team members the opportunities, resources, and time required to lead initiatives that will take them above and beyond the comfort zone and will help drive advancement and innovation in how we do things. I see every single person in my team as having the potential to be a leader, regardless of title, time in the organization, or if they have direct reports or not.
As leaders, being credible, trustworthy, respectful, and empathetic naturally leads us to make better connections with our teams. Everything starts by having meaningful conversations. We know that when employees feel valued, empowered, and connected to their work and the organization, there is an overall boost in their engagement. I try to be as involved and available as possible, as this allows me to provide the support that my team needs. My job is to lead the way, role-model a mindset of growth and continuous improvement, and continue to encourage my team to achieve ambitious goals and deliver significant results for Apotex.
When it comes to marketing in any business, it is considered the most central communication element. If carried out with proper strategic perspective and operational role, marketing can boost business to the peak. Implementing such effective methodologies is Claire Bretzke.
As the Vice President of Global Marketing at Ruby Has Fulfillment, Claire has nurtured a collaborative culture to utilize various marketing aspects to inform and integrate with suppliers on every level.
Insights Success caught up with Claire in its search to find “The 10 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain, 2022.” We talked with her to gain in-depth knowledge about extensive expertise spread across multiple aspects of marketing.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Ruby Has Fulfillment. What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are today? I worked for several different ecommerce startups in
Using our expertise to host webinars, develop helpful content, get news coverage, and build partnerships with other leading companies in the industry, has helped us grow at an astonishing rate over the last few years.
The 10 Most Influen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022marketing and design roles before joining the Ruby Has team and these startups weren’t always successful. It takes a lot of insight, courage, persistence, and a certain amount of luck to grow a business, especially through multiple recessions and a pandemic. I am here because of my experience in ecommerce, but also because of the people I met along the way who believed in me and helped me become the person I am today.
Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.
Ruby Has Fulfillment is the vision of its founder, Rafael Zakinov. He started the business with one warehouse in New York, and we’re now expanding internationally. But as we grow, we’re working hard not to lose what makes us unique, which is our collaborative approach to working with our ecommerce brands and giving them what they need to grow.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the Logistics & Supply Chain niche through your expertise in the market.
I would say I’ve made a difference by using the marketing channels I have to reach new clients in unconventional ways. Logistics and supply chain companies have been around for centuries, but they haven’t always put a lot of thought into their brand. We’ve established Ruby Has as a thought leader in the industry by creating content that potential clients want to watch, read, and click on. Using our expertise to host webinars, develop helpful content, get news coverage and build partnerships with other leading companies in the industry has helped us grow at an astonishing rate over the last few years.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.
I mentioned the collaborative approach that Ruby Has Fulfillment has taken in working with our clients, and I think that shows the type of organization we are. It’s not our way or the highway; it’s identifying solutions in ways that make the most sense for your business. We are all in this to help our clients grow.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
Ruby Has is committed to investing in technology, robotics, and automation as long as it makes sense for our clients. If
it isn’t going to help our clients grow, we don’t do it. It’s as simple as that. It makes my job as marketing VP easier to be able to say that Ruby Has is a technological leader and that we are committed to investing in technology.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the Inventory Storage & Management industry?
I would like to see Inventory Storage & Management companies put more of an emphasis on listening to their clients, engaging with them, and encouraging them to engage with their end customers to learn from them. In an effort to streamline pick and pack services, there has been a one-size-fits-all approach in the past, but rising ecommerce brands didn’t get where they are by acting like everyone else. We can learn as much from them as they learn from us.
What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Supply Chain industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change? The way I see it, Ruby Has, and other fulfillment companies like ours are making it easy for brands to open new sales channels, so they’re no longer dependent on one channel, whether that’s brick and mortar stores, wholesale, Amazon, other retail marketplaces or direct-to-consumer. I don’t know what the next big thing will be, but I’m sure Ruby Has will be one of the first to bring it to our clients.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Ruby Has Fulfillment?
I love helping brands grow. My goal for Ruby Has is to continue to grow its presence as a global brand that is known for caring for our clients and making ecommerce fulfillment easier. That goes for U.S. companies selling overseas, as well as overseas brands hoping to break into the U.S. market.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Supply Chain sector?
I would say there is plenty of room for new ideas and new people in this industry. It is rapidly growing, and there will always be a need for moving things around. The methods may change but that’s what makes it exciting.
oordinating overall logistics with an intent to
C minimize cost and maximize the efficiency of the supply chain, Jessica Burgess redefines the way of thinking about sales, business development, and revenue growth. As the Director of Business Development at Ruby Has Fulfilment , she empowers her team to become the best they can be and drives to create a positive culture grounded in a companywide vision of success.
Insights Success caught up with Jessica in its search to find
“The 10 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain, 2022 ” We got into a conversation with her to understand how she utilizes consultative and solution-based selling while delivering and sustaining revenue and profit gains within multiple markets.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Ruby Has Fulfillment. What challenges have you overcome to reach where you are today?
I began in this industry nearly a decade ago and worked my way up from a representative to the Director of Business Development. One of the biggest hurdles throughout this journey occurred several years ago. I had to step out of my comfort zone and move myself and my 2-year-old son 8 hours away from our friends and family. Balancing motherhood, a career, and personal life is never an easy task, but doing it without any support is something else entirely. During this trying year, I truly learned what I was capable of (and gained an incredible appreciation for my mother).
Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.
At Ruby Has, our mission is to be true partners to our clients. To deliver an unparalleled service to brands as they scale and to maintain real relationships with our clients. No brand is a number to us, everyone has a name, and we excel because of those relationships. Our vision is to maintain these best practices while we continue to grow and expand both domestically and internationally.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the Logistics & Supply Chain niche through your expertise in the market.
Logistics and supply chain is very similar to any other business field in that it is male-dominated. Simply being a woman leader in this space is impactful, but I would say my biggest impact has been on those who have, or currently do,
We are constantly adding new technology and new partners to stay ahead of the needs of our clients.The 10 Most Influen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022
report to me. The experience and knowledge that I gained on my way up the proverbial ladder have proven to be critical to my ability to lead and mold a successful team. My ultimate professional goal is not tied to numbers or quotas but rather to cultivate a happy, motivated team of experts who are equipped to go out and kill it every day.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.
Ruby Has is a company that values its employees. I strive to place a similar emphasis on a healthy culture amongst my team. We reward hard work and a job well done, and we also correct and mentor with empathy and compassion. People first is the motto of Ruby Has and it applies to both our clients and our staff.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
Cutting-edge technology is a requirement for any fulfillment company that expects to be reliable at scale. Our combination of automation, robotics, and actual boots on the ground is key to our success. The technology behind our strategic robotics systems allows us to get orders picked and packed at a rate that no team of workers could accomplish; however, those workers allow us to offer more flexibility than most companies our size. We have orchestrated the perfect balance and have entire teams responsible for staying current on the next advancement in the space.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the Inventory Storage & Management industry?
I would like to see increased education for entrepreneurs who are just getting started. So frequently, we see brands that have grown quickly but whose packaging and labeling haven’t grown along with their business. Nearly all fulfillment companies that are technologically advanced require barcodes, but brands are often caught off guard when they hear this. Even medium to enterprise-size
companies delay making this transition until it is too late. Barcode everything and plan your packaging accordingly from the beginning. That is the message I would like to get to anyone even considering going into the ecommerce space because it will greatly impact their inventory management capabilities.
What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Supply Chain industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change?
I think online shopping and direct-to-consumer sales are both here to stay, so the next big changes will be improvements in transportation, both globally and domestically, that ease some of the problems we’ve seen and increase shipping capacity. There will always be something changing; it’s the nature of the business. Ruby Has is here to help facilitate change and growth for our clients.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Ruby Has Fulfillment?
I am positive that Ruby Has Fulfillment will continue to evolve along with the ecommerce industry. We are constantly adding new technology and new partners to stay ahead of the needs of our clients. I envision myself being right here, assisting in that growth by bringing new clients through the door and growing a team of professionals who are motivated to do the same.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Supply Chain sector? Do it! Even if you have to start at the bottom and work your way up, you should dive in headfirst. This is an industry that is growing at an unbelievable rate, and it isn’t going anywhere. Imagine if you could have gotten into the auto industry early on or the cell phone industry back when they were the size of handbags! Every year, more and more people buy more and more of their items online, and there has never been a better chance to get in on the excitement.
nnovation has brought people closer. It has improved
I various ways businesses operate and, more specifically, how products, information, work, and funds flow throughout the supply chain. Leading in the supply chain industry is an arduous task as it constantly faces new challenges through several internal and external factors.
Although, there are several burning issues to be resolved with efficient and effective solutions. Leaders, especially women, are experts at managing customer expectations, suppliers, maintaining quality and sustainability, access to data, and risk mitigation. Even in difficult times like the Pandemic, these women leaders efficiently contributed and led from the forefront. The question arises of how the supply chain is led under women's leadership. Let us dive in deep through this article.
Today, there is much talk about the companies led by women, and the supply chain is no exemption to it. This shift of women into fields like supply chain gives the industry new ideas to take the field forward. It is also because of their solid technological background, through which they have been able to take charge of the supply chain companies. This change in the supply chain industry brings positivity and more energy among the team members. That's the influence of women in the supply chain, or in the overall professional workplace for that matter.
Their key strength is to create bonding with the clients, team members, and the organization's internal management. They make sure everyone feels included and create growth opportunities for everyone. Due to their performance, we could proudly say that today no industry is male-dominated; women in business have climbed the ladder of challenges making it to success. And, if there has to be a synonym for 'hard work,' it would be 'women' because women have adapted to the supply chain with their hard work and dedication.
Women have proved that no job is impossible; all you want is support from your team and, of course, from the family members. And, this is where work-life balance comes into the picture for them; whether it is the personal or professional life, women are handling their roles and responsibilities perfectly. Ideally, if I would think to
manage such a tight work-life balance, it would be a disaster for me, so we got to appreciate how women handle things with their best efforts.
The Big Picture here is that we are entering the digital transformation era, and women in business and supply chain are just another example of it. Looking at their journey, we understand that it takes a lot of courage, dedication, and patience to become the leader in the supply chain. It is so because you are involved in endless business meetings, decisions, handling inventory, and multiple things simultaneously. So, businesswomen have risen and established as perfect leaders to take all the work carefully related to the supply chain.
Over the last few years, we have seen this trend of women entering all the industries, and this change is good. With their experience and knowledge today, their presence is enough to take the companies up and above. You only learn in the leadership process because risks, challenges, and success go on till the very end of the leadership journey. So, businesswomen understand that they have to create as many opportunities as possible to come into this field.
Leadership is quite a journey indeed; never giving up and staying motivated is the key here. Learn from your mistakes and make the world yours. We are all surrounded by the miraculous leadership of women, and we are very much excited about what they bring to us.
The 10 Most Influen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022
he intricacies in the supply chain are increasing
Twith each passing day; even though technological advancement and data bring additional value to the process, the skill gap keeps expanding. Organizations need diverse talent to manage the supply chain to push performance and profitability further. Having insights and information about the supply chain can provide organizations a refreshing perspective which is what Maria Villablanca delivers with her venture Future Insights Network .
As the Co founder and CEO, as well as the host of a successful podcast , Maria creates a workplace culture that inspires and motivates. She is an effective, energetic, and visionary leader who believes that “good enough” is never good enough. With her leadership at the forefront, Future Insights Network is driving manufacturing and supply chain innovation through; thought leadership, virtual workshops, live, collaborative events.
Insights Success caught up with Maria in our endeavor to find “The 10 Most influential Women in Supply Chain, 2022 . ” We talked with her to have a deep understanding of how she is driving a transformational change by connecting supply chain leaders.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Brief our audience about your journey as a business leader until your current position at Future Insights Network. What challenges you had to overcome to reach where you are today?
I have had a long trajectory spanning multiple continents, languages, industries, and roles over my nearly 30-year career. This path has allowed me to embrace change, diversity, transformation and has provided me with an opportunity to develop agility and adaptability. My greatest teachers throughout my career have been my failures, and I am very grateful for them.
Our purpose is to inspire and enable transformational change in the world’s leading companies.
Tell us something more about your company and its mission and vision.
The Future Insights Network exists to provide our network of over 80,000 senior supply chain leaders with content, connections, and a community to help them solve their burning questions. Today, more than ever, this is important in helping to build agile, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the Logistics & Supply Chain niche through your expertise in the market.
We try to bring stories and case studies with clear and actionable advice to the industry. There is too much hype, noise, and buzz out there, and we hope that we can deliver some clarity amidst the complexity and disruption of today. We do this via the Transform Talks with Maria Villablanca podcast and our events.
Describe in detail the values and the work culture that drives your organization.
We strive to create a culture of agility, flexibility, learning, and diversity. As a woman-led, woman-owned business, we aim to give voices to underrepresented groups in our industry and further the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Equally, I think it’s important to ensure we create a culture where all our team feels comfortable in bringing new ideas to the table.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
The pandemic meant shifting our business from one where we delivered physical events to a purely digital offering. This meant learning new skills and implementing new technology, including AI, into our business. Without it, we would not have been able to weather the last 18 months successfully. Not only has this technology allowed us to grow during the pandemic, with almost triple-digit revenue and community growth, but we have been able to widen our nets to grow into new markets that were previously unavailable in their physical form.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring in the Inventory Storage & Management industry? Ideally, I would want to see two changes,
1) to drive more diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and bring more people with different backgrounds to the industry but also
2) drive sustainable change. The pandemic has fast-tracked digital transformation. It would be great to see us develop new and more sustainable business models too.
What, according to you, could be the next big change in the Supply Chain industry? How is your company preparing to be a part of that change? The next big change will be around digital transformation technologies and sustainability. Both will have an impact on how we define the supply chain and how businesses operate. Every single role in Supply Chain will change. I hope for the better. Our role in this new world is to continue to bring stories of positive change to the industry.
Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run, and what are your future goals for Future Insights Network?
In the long run, I hope to continue growing the business, the community, and the network to include a wider group of Supply Chain executives from the moment they start their careers in this industry until the moment they retire. I hope to continue bringing them content, connections, and a place where they can dialogue and debate the latest trends and issues.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Supply Chain sector?
Do it! There has never been a more exciting time to join the industry. I believe Supply Chain professionals can change the world!
Mariam Saad
of IT, Technology Services, Professional Services Procurement TELUS
The transition in the supply chain industry is near. To realize this change, it’s essential to understand the end-to-end supply base mapping and focus on sustainable efforts. Implementing several aspects in the workplace will align with the massive shift caused by the pandemic concerning global consumer mindsets towards environmental issues. Preparing for this change is Mariam Saad , a multi-lingual leader with 20 years of highly skilled experience in procurement, operations, and sales, across multiple global and national organizations in telecommunications, mining, and information technology. As the Director of IT , Technology Services, and Professional Services Procurement for TELUS, Mariam leads towards an extensive transformational initiative as the company seeks to grow and mature its capabilities. She is recognized for effectively leading and managing concurrent initiatives while consistently achieving strong results.
TELUS is building a better future for all Canadians by using its technology for good and giving back to its communities. Its social purpose is at the heart of everything it does as a world-leading technology company, and TELUS continues to set itself apart to make the future friendly together.
Mariam graduated with an International Business Commerce Degree from Concordia University in Montreal, with a Minor Degree in Marketing. Following the Degree from Concordia, she then pursued a 1.5-year Leadership Certificate at the Executive McGill MBA Program. Having worked across multiple industries, including
Information Technologies, Natural Resources, and Telecommunication, she developed extensive experience in IT sales and procurement operations. Throughout her career, she focused on revenue generation, cost savings, delivery, and value creation. She took the opportunity to utilize the experience and expertise with each successive role to sharpen her focus on value generation.
Throughout Mariam's career, she faced numerous diversity and inclusiveness challenges. In her early sales career, she was the only woman amongst a team of 10 men. As a result, she constantly felt that she had to work twice as hard to prove herself.
Moreover, she faced additional adversity coming from an immigrant ethnic background, which she had to overcome throughout her journey. She says, "Whether working in IT or the mining industry, there were very few women, and almost none existed as you moved up the ladder. “ Mariam expresses that support for women was incredibly lacking during the first few years of her career. There were no forums where women could connect, receive support or share experiences. She had many female colleagues that constantly reached out to her to share their challenges. Instead of seeing this as an obstacle, she thought about taking charge and making a difference. To that end, Mariam co-founded the first women network at her previous company and opened the first chapter in Montreal. Mariam received an overwhelming response, and people worldwide became involved asking to join the Montreal chapter. As a result, she negotiated a budget to launch 10 other local chapters worldwide. Today, Mariam enjoys mentoring young women and new immigrants to help them integrate into or succeed in their workplace.
When you're with TELUS, you're part of a network of giving.
The 10 Most Influen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022
Mariam expressed that sharing and collaboration are integral parts of learning and growth. At TELUS, she strives for continuous improvement and value creation, ensuring that she is constantly learning and educating herself, her team, and the business on the latest technologies. She is also sought after to speak at events such as Supply Chain Digital or round tables with Procurement Leaders, Supplier Diversity events, or within IT Summits to discuss the latest issues and trends in the IT and Digital space.
She surrounds herself with a great network of colleagues, and team members, enabling learning and professional growth; she believes that giving back to her team, TELUS, network, and suppliers is a privilege and a responsibility to give back what others have done for her.
Most recently, Mariam had the opportunity to speak at many events sharing her thought-leadership about the effects of the pandemic and its role in accelerating digital transformation and about Cloud transformation, evolving strategy between private, public, single, and multi-cloud vendors. Mariam is proud to be a thoughtful contributor to these critical discussions.
Mariam states that TELUS has key pillars from a cultural evolution focused on innovation, growth, change, teamwork, and risk. TELUS drives a collaborative work environment that fosters growth and development in individual and team culture and innovative perspectives. This environment encourages team members to look for new opportunities while approaching risk-taking with an opportunistic and experimental mindset. Everyday innovation is focused on nurturing the mindset, behaviours, and environment required to inspire the courage to drive innovation to a cultural standard across all levels and value chains at TELUS.
With respect to leveraging technology to drive business objectives, Mariam highlted that TELUS is committed to making the future friendly by connecting Canadians through technological solutions that create value within communities and connecting with technology partners to advance the digital transformation journey.
Agriculture: TELUS is on a mission to tackle some of the most significant social challenges of the generation using technology for good and empowering growth in agriculture and feeding the world by connecting the underserved rural
world with communication capabilities. TELUS fosters the exchange of digitized information to help all parties operate more efficiently. Connected solutions for farm management, optimized profitability, increased efficiency, and insights.
Healthcare: TELUS is streamlining health records and data, building powerful digital healthcare tools for hospitals, doctors, pharmacists, and more, to help support healthcare providers. TELUS heavily invests in virtual care to access all Canadians to receive quality care anytime and anywhere. TELUS has invested over $2.5Billion in healthcare in the last decades; it has $12Million Canadians covered by TELUS Health Benefit management solutions.
Partnerships: TELUS's ecosystem of partners is crucial to Mariam. The company has built strategic partnerships, allowing it to build some of the world's fastest, highest quality networks to lead in the Healthcare Technology and Customer First approach.
Mariam loves her work and envisions herself constantly learning and growing in her space, helping shape and change the supply chain industry to advance it and solve real problems. She is proud to assist "feeding the world" by improving TELUS' food quality and safety by leveraging technological innovation and human compassion. She is excited to be a part of the healthcare initiative that will impact the world positively. She sees herself mentoring supply chain professionals, fostering a diversity and inclusiveness culture, and soon leading a procurement or supply chain organization.
Mariam advises up-and-coming entrepreneurs to prepare themselves for a wonderful ride. She says, "You are going to witness some of the greatest evolution in this space. We are entering the fourth industrial revolution that will challenge current ways of working and the need for some of the most pressing issues in the world. It is where entrepreneurs can use their experience and expertise to witness or drive some of the greatest changes in the supply chain space seen in several decades.”
Monique Alblas Vice President of Consul ng
The 10 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain, 2022
he supply chain is a traditionally male-dominated
Tfield. Therefore, being a leader in the supply chain field is not as easy as it sounds for women. It takes courage, zeal to learn, and resilience to be in this field and make a difference. Today, many brave and resilient women leaders have entered this space, are making notable contributions, and are setting inspirational standards for other women. One such inspirational leader in the supply chain industry is Monique Alblas , the Vice President of Consulting at GEP Worldwide.
Let’s shed some light on her journey as a business leader.
After graduating, Monique joined a small company for which she was asked to set up a separate IT contingent labor company. Being an entrepreneur at such a young age was a tremendous learning experience for her, covering all aspects of a business in which, of course, she also made more than her fair share of mistakes that she had to overcome.
After that, Monique joined a global high tech firm with responsibility for a triple-digit spend portfolio of professional services companies. During this time, she worked with C-suite executives in a male-dominated engineering environment and learned to stand her ground. Working with a wide variety of consultants and seeing the difference they could make in relatively short periods made her realize that being a consultant would fit her like a glove. She notes, “Being a consultant means you always have to bring your A-game. You’re hired to achieve meaningful results. It’s never easy, but I love it.”
Supply chains have also seen a lot of unprecedented challenges over the past years, and Monique joined GEP Worldwide, just as when the world was dealing with the pandemic. One of the major areas of concern, especially in the first few months of the crisis, was the overdependence on China and the inability to procure materials from there and several other parts of Asia. Many enterprises were
forced to look for an alternative, and likely more expensive suppliers and solutions.
At GEP, Monique supported several clients with make-orbuy decisions to prevent big losses. She led a team that looked into setting up local and regional production for some of the materials that they could not get via the regular supply chains because of logistical issues caused by COVID-19, as well as collaborations with other third parties to bundle their buying power.
Monique believes that procurement can no longer just focus on volumes and driving down costs to help achieve the company’s larger objectives. Procurement and supply chain leaders need to look for innovative solutions to play a strategic role in achieving company goals. Leaders need to genuinely collaborate with their ecosystem — with their suppliers and suppliers’ suppliers and evolve from a transactional vendor-style relationship.
GEP Worldwide is a leading provider of supply chain and procurement software, consulting and managed services to Global 2000 enterprises worldwide.
She says, “To develop an informed perspective on what's going on in the market, and to understand what's possible, it’s paramount that procurement and supply chain leaders collaborate with suppliers and other organizations. This means stepping outside our comfort zones and boundaries of negotiating prices, quantities and lead times to also focus, and assist, suppliers with tracking their environmental impact, cutting waste, sustainability, innovating activities, adopting new digital platforms to share data more easily and gain greater visibility across the entire, multi-step, global supply chain.”
Founded 22 years ago, GEP is a leading provider of supply chain and procurement software, consulting, and managed services to Global 2000 enterprises worldwide. Its mission is to integrate strategy, software, and managed services so its clients can transform and optimize their supply chains and drive greater value to customers and stakeholders.
With more than 5,000 employees across 24 locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, GEP is continuing to grow by double digits as global companies are accelerating their investment in remaking their supply chains.
Talking about the values and culture of GEP, Monique mentions that it is a privately held, minority, and womenowned business, where giving back is an integral part of its purpose and its DNA.
GEP was founded on six core values, including delighting customers, excellence, and caring. By caring, it means caring for each other as colleagues, for the communities where they live, and for the environment. Monique asserts, “Caring is integral to our culture because it connects our thousands of employees across every office with a common purpose to improve people’s lives.”
Besides, it won Best Places to Work in nearly every other country it operates. Its approach combines a top-down corporate-led program and enables employees to create activities for their communities. It identified four specific social areas for its employees to help address: empowering women; enabling basic education for children; alleviating hunger; and sustainability initiatives to cut its environmental impact. Each year, GEP Worldwide spends between 5% to 10% of its annual profit through direct contributions and matching employees’ initiatives.
Last year, GEP’s employees spent more than 20,000 hours undertaking local activities to support women’s development, address hunger, and provide children with access to basic education.
Monique opines that GEP’s future is bright. It is an exciting time for the company because supply chains and procurement are now a boardroom- and investor-level issue. Companies are accelerating the transformation to build resilient, agile and sustainable supply chains.
Today, companies need redundancy and resilience, as well as speed and cost efficiency, to better manage supply disruptions, inflation, scarcity, and cyberattacks. Companies are also shifting from measuring to cutting the environmental impact of their entire complex supply chains. Furthermore, procurement is now strategic and essential to get costs in line with inflation running more than 7%.
GEP invests heavily in product development, led by ML/AI for advanced data analytics in everything, from real-time demand forecasting — enabling clients to react quickly and be demand-led — to identifying savings and determining what components and services “should cost” to evaluating the performance of suppliers. GEP continues to roll out control towers to identify potential disruptions and issue resolution.
In conclusion, Monique expresses, “This is an exciting and important time to be consulting for companies about their global supply chain, and GEP, as a global leader, is ideally positioned. Disruptions in logistics and drastic changes in consumer expectations have sparked an unprecedented focus on supply chain management for C-suite executives. We are now seeing the shift from logistics and supply chain primarily being a back-office function to a boardroom priority. It is only the start as supply chains will continue to grow in complexity. The future survival for organizations now depends on effectively managing the 5Vs of supply chain success: visibility, volatility, velocity, vulnerability and viability. GEP is growing very rapidly, and I’m excited to be playing a pivotal role in supporting companies reimaging their supply chains and adopt new technologies to become more cost-effective, resilient and sustainable.”
The 2022 International Women’s Day theme is “Choose to Challenge.” Challenging for bringing change in the world by being aware of the opportunities to create a gender-balanced society in all the sectors. The supply chain industry has been traditionally male-dominated, and it is challenging for women, especially in leadership positions. But trailblazing women leaders are revolutionary in their approach and choose to take up the challenge of being in the supply chain industry and impacting the industry with their courage, passion, guts, and leadership skills.
Women are fearless and believe in their potential, setting exemplary standards for other women leaders and setting the standards for future generations. It takes a lot of knowledge, awareness, bravery, and ability to deal with complex challenges in the supply chain industry to be a trailblazing women leader. Therefore, becoming a trailblazing women leader in the supply chain industry is a laudable feat. Such women leaders become an inspirational example for other women leaders and future generations.
Women leaders are making their presence count and are ready to take on the challenge and proving themselves that they can work productively to make a difference with their skills and abilities. Due to the value women bring to the table, many companies also include women in leadership positions to make better and inclusive decisions.
Trailblazing women leaders play a vital role in ensuring diversity, equality, and inclusion in the supply chain industry and are more judicious in ensuring good overall operations and productivity from all the employees.
Women leaders doing good in the supply chain industry naturally significantly impact other women leaders, and it is more inspiring for them to follow such leaders. The women leaders in the supply chain industry should be open to changes in the industry. They should be ready to change themselves with the transformative shifts by innovating various tactics making sound judgments with pre-existing solid knowledge.
Trailblazing women leaders in the supply chain industry prepare themselves well enough to handle the challenges in the supply chain industry and make the best situational decisions. They should resolve the difficulties with fortitude and work hard with all their team members. They should learn from their seniors and pass on what they have learned to others. No two days are the same in the supply chain industry.
Those women who want to enter the supply chain industry should be adaptable and flexible with the continuously changing dynamics in the supply chain industry. They should have the great approach of learning and grasping things quickly, all the constant changes happening in the industry, and accordingly developing the ability to handle all the situations with diligence and making their best contribution by becoming a trailblazing leader in the industry. They should be strategic and have a lot of firefighting ability every day to make the greatest impact in the industry and prove themselves as illustrious leaders in the supply chain industry.
Since the start of the pandemic, the supply chain industry has been facing issues such as an onslaught of shortages, disruptions, and delays. But competent leaders in this industry are continuing to navigate challenges in the supply chain industry by using their knowledge and experience. Female leaders in the supply chain industry continue to emerge and make an impact in the industry with good momentum and adopting best practices. By building robust supply chains and reforming the supply chain sector, women leaders in this sector are fueling innovation in this industry. They are creating a brighter path for the success of the supply chain community. It is important for the supply chain community to communicate their message to a larger audience about their services. Through Let’s Talk Supply Chain , Sarah Barnes-Humphrey is building a platform that gives a voice to the supply chain community, sees the visual impact of diversity and inclusion, and finally creates safe spaces for everyone to feel heard.
Sarah has spent the past 20 years in the logistics and supply chain industry learning everything she can. Perseverance led Sarah to become one of the top women leaders in the Supply Chain Industry. She doesn’t believe in giving up. She runs “Let’s Talk Supply Chain (LTSC),” and it is the hottest supply chain podcast on the market. She is obsessed with the supply chain and believes that “Collaboration is the future of business”, and we can all win together.
In its Let’s Talk Supply Chain Women in Supply Chain series, LTSC introduces the female leaders who are dominating the supply chain now and unleashing better, smarter outcomes. LTSC shares the obstacles these woman leaders have conquered, giant leaps of faith, and the beginnings that ultimately brought them where they are today, leading businesses across the global supply chain.
Focusing on the Work that Needs to Be Done Sarah worked for the family business for 20 years, took courses online while she got hands-on experience in logistics working in operations, sales and then ultimately ended her career there as Director of Sales and Marketing.
Being the oldest, she overcame jealousy from employees because she was the “Boss’ daughter”, she had trust issues as everyone she met had an agenda or wanted something from her as the “Boss’ daughter”. The ultimate challenge came from the day her father closed the doors of the business. She felt for all company’s employees and
customers. She felt so much loss, including the fact that she wanted to run the company one day, ever since she was 16, and that day was the worst day of her life.
Sarah had already started the podcast and had clients counting on her, so every day thereafter, she just kept everything going. She learned social media, graphics design, website design, and editing and woke up every day by focusing on the work that needed to be done.
LTSC features brands within that sector of the supply chain on the podcast, and now it is lending its platform for brands to have their own shows with a built-in audience. Sarah believes that it is very important for brands in the supply chain sector to tell their story and really communicate their value proposition for those they can help. Supply chain professionals know what is out there, and LTSC brings that to the market.
Being a certified Women-Owned Supply Chain community facilitator, LTSC values diverse perspectives. Being openminded, leaning in to understand, always learning, and trusting each other to want what needs to be done for everyone’s success is how it drives the organization forward and stays innovative.
We use tech whenever and wherever it makes sense, always looking for new ways that we can support the brands in our industry to tell the best story and give the best information to our audience and our listeners.The 10 Most Influen al Women in Supply Chain, 2022
LTSC’s Non-Profit – The Blended Pledge is working hard to see the visual impact on stages in audiences at industry conferences and in digital content, so it is very focused on Diversity and Inclusion. Through its second podcast, called the Blended Podcast, it brings 5 people from different walks of life together to talk openly and authentically about various DEI topics. LTSC is also focused on Collaboration being the future of business, bringing the players in the industry together to bring more transparency, visibility, and cohesive chain.
Sarah states that organizations will be looking at where they want to have risks in their supply chain in the future. They will base their future strategies on competing on supply chains against their competitors, not just product marketing. LTSC is preparing to be part of that change by building the platform for voices to be heard so they all can learn from each other's mistakes, challenges, and successes. Sarah envisions building more, creating more, and being change agents in the industry.
Sarah advises budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the Supply Chain Industry to buckle up because she says that it is quite the ride. She suggests them to choose something that they really enjoy because she believes that success in this industry doesn’t happen overnight, and they need to overcome doubts, unwanted advice, naysayers etc. She advises them to believe and love what they are doing that will keep them motivated.
Sarah herself has started and stopped many ventures from getting where she is today. She suggests budding entrepreneurs, “Stay motivated, don’t quit, take small steps toward your goal every single day and stay flexible/open minded.”
Shimon Gowda Manager, Supply Chain Design+ Chainalytics and Founder Supply Chain Unified
The 10 Most Influential Women in Supply Chain, 2022
For the last few years, the supply chain industry has witnessed women taking up leadership positions and thriving in their roles. Women have steadily advanced within the logistics and supply chain sector with their passion, talent, and knowledge. Today, many women are playing a significant role in shaping the future of the industry.
One such woman is Shimon Gowda, Manager, Supply Chain Design at Chainalytics and the Founder of Supply Chain Unified , a networking platform for like-minded people and peers who are in the first decade of their career and are exploring what their true ‘mojo’ is.
As Shimon looks back and ponders her journey up until now, she sees and realizes how every experience has been invaluable learning and steppingstone. The current situation is also a learning experience and a window of opportunity of what she hopes to achieve, contribute, and give back to society and continue inspiring the way she has been inspired.
She expresses, “A career in supply chain was not by accident for me. As it is rightly said, family is the first school of every individual. Many of our career aspirations are strongly influenced by the envi-ronment in which we are brought up. My father, a doctor and a son of a farmer balanced his pro-fession well and took care of our agricultural land perfectly. As a kid, I would keenly observe the processes involved in running our estate. My initial brush with Supply Chain Process was when I saw how the
milk from the cows was stored and diligently transported to the dairy for pasteuriza-tion, where it undergoes various processes before it is sent out to stores for sale. I was always inspired and awed by this mechanical yet very efficient chain of supply. This inspired me to develop a penchant towards Supply chain and the various processes governing them.”
Having a bachelor's and a master's degree specialized in Supply chain exposed Shimon to the essentials of supply chain almost 9 years ago. She has come to realize that optimization of the supply chain is a cyclic process. The principle of Lean Six Sigma that states, "there is always scope for improvement and potential to reduce costs", fuels Shimon’s eternal passion in this field.
Besides, Shimon’s educational background and professional exposure have taught her to have a keen eye for optimization of process, labour, infrastructure, and distribution network including all nodes of supply and demand to increase the three "R's": Revenue, ROI and Relationship building.
Like numerous other immigrants who leave behind their hometown and move to a completely different land to see a better future for themselves, Shimon is yet another aspirant who traveled to the United States; first time abroad to pursue her higher education. This was her very first challenge.
Shimon met wonderful new people from different cultures, saw the world from a different perspective, and became more appreciative and grateful for her own culture and
upbringing while respecting others and learning every day. She asserts, “Life is not easy being an immigrant on a visa and an aspirant who was particular in having a career of her choice. When you are on a visa, your time and clock is always ticking and there is a constant urge to accept any opportunity that comes your way to stay afloat. I think that was one of the major challenges to me. The zeal and thirst to fight and wait for a career opportunity that you are passionate about. I cannot underplay the impact of a perfect combination of hard work and luck, that has bought me down the path.”
The second challenge for her was being a woman in a man’s world! She puts. “ No matter how progressive the times are, I cannot emphasize the number of times I have been the only woman on the table. Having and choosing a career in supply chain also more often means you are inside a warehouse, factory and amongst trucks observing and auditing to perform root cause analysis of issues. It is not always a very glamourous profession. I have been fortunate enough to have worked with wonderful set of colleagues and cultures where gender equality is of the utmost importance and have felt indifferent despite being the only female in the room.”
Thirdly, one of the greatest adversity or challenge Shimon most recently faced was when she had to make a very tough decision to leave the United States, as she did not get ‘lucky’ in the lottery-based work visa. But she believes that
borders cannot stop you if one really wants to make an impact. She notes, “I feel more confident now because most companies are now global and the physical presence or location of a person cannot stop you from solving a problem, work in collaboration across na-tions and truly make an impact on what you are passionate about.”
Shimon owes her current success and position to all the mentorship and guidance from some amazing people she has met. She says, “The essence of being in consulting is, every project feels like a new learning phase. There are numerous business nuances that you learn and are constantly awed by.”
Talking about the next big change in the supply chain industry, Shimon believes that there should be the acceptance and adaptation of more companies and supply chain professionals to keep a broader mind and attitude towards learning, accepting, and implementing AI/ML technology and algorithms. She marks, “This is to simplify and automate monotonous jobs and not to take away any jobs. Human intervention will still be required in our industry at large. But by automating several tasks, we can now focus on innovation, empowering mental well-be-ing of workforce and all value to our everyday task without having to feel mechanical or redundant in our tasks.”
We asked Shimon if given a chance, what change she would like to bring to the supply chain industry, to which she said, “I would encourage more small and mid-sized companies to educate themselves to understand how using data and seeking help from supply chain professionals can truly add to the bottom line and optimize their process. Secondly, increase awareness about the advantages of collaboration, not just within the organization but with all your partners across the organization involving suppliers, freight partners, 3PL and warehouse partners, retailers as well as customers.”
I hope to continue learning and constantly thrive towards making a positive impact.
“ “
VP, Customer Excellence for North America Unilever
he trait of substantial business leaders is that they
Tare enthusiastic about learning, growing, and enhancing their skills and abilities in all situations. They always have a learning mindset, and they transform challenges into opportunities with their positive attitude. Such attitude helps them make a significant difference in the business they are leading. Wendy Herrick is one such business leader who is always eager to learn, grow and is substantially contributing to the supply chain industry.
Wendy was recently appointed as the VP of Customer Excellence for North America at Unilever after having 3 successful years as Head of Digital Supply Chain. Wendy has had many life-changing opportunities at Unilever, all of which have played a role in shaping the leader she is today. These opportunities have influenced how she looks at challenges and obstacles. She sees challenges as beautiful opportunities in disguise. She says, "The best way to master your head (thoughts) and your heart (emotions) is through challenging situations that enable you to learn, grow and strengthen your leadership acumen.”
Let's have a look at her exhilarating journey as a leader.
Wendy had several jobs in high school and college, which were all consumer-facing, so the learning started very early on. She was taught that the customer is always right and learned that being a manager/leader of people was a hard job but also most rewarding. Wendy's journey as a business leader started right out of college at Unilever International in Bristol, England. Since then, she has had the opportunity to work in both finance and supply chain roles and live in many different countries across the
globe. She believes in evolving from having a 'know it all' mindset to 'learn it all' mindset.
As one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, Unilever is driven by its purpose to make sustainable living commonplace, with an ambition to be the global leader in sustainable business, showing that our purposeled, future-fit business model delivers superior performance.. This is engrained in Unilever's culture and expressed through its 400 brands that touch the lives of over 2.5 billion consumers every day.
Unilever aims to be a force for good – for people and the planet – and invites others to join it in making the world a better place for future generations to come. In its Climate Transition Action Plan it has outlined how it will achieve its commitment to zero emissions from its operations by 2030. Additionally, via its Climate Promise, it has invited suppliers to demonstrate their shared values and commitment to reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint as Unilever works to achieve its stretching goal of net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2039.
Wendy has lived and worked in many countries across the globe and taken on many stretching leadership roles. This has taught her the importance of being self-aware and motivating, inspiring, and leading the company's most valuable asset – its people. She believes this continuous learning and development of self, coupled with a servant leadership style, has enabled her to make an impact across the business.
Wendy proudly mentions that Unilever's values of integrity, respect, responsibility, and pioneering are the simplest statement of who they all are at Unilever. These shared values live in everything Unilever does.
As Wendy mentioned earlier, Unilever is a purposedriven company. Purpose starts at the top with Alan Jope and permeates throughout the organization. Every employee has a personal purpose statement that guides them on their work/life journey. Wendy's purpose "to inspire people to live, love, laugh and leave a legacy" has guided her throughout her career.
Unilever's supply chain is at the heart of the business of making sustainable living commonplace, which fits well with Wendy's personal purpose. Imagine being a part of this headline "Unilever changes the negative trajectory of our climate crisis - The world is safe for generations to come." That's a legacy Wendy wants to be part of !
Responding to Consumer Demands Sustainably and Cost-Effectively
Wendy has experienced first hand how in today's world consumers have become accustomed to receiving any desired good within a few days, or even hours. Supply chains are having to reinvent themselves. Unilever is working towards "making today what it sold yesterday", in order to be able to respond to customer and consumer demands in the most sustainable and cost-effective way. The disruption the global pandemic brought confirmed Unilever's belief that agility is critical. Mark Engel, Unilever's Chief Supply Chain officer, has driven strategies where "Agility trumps forecasting''.
Unilever has also had to make some key investments to enable end to end synchronization through digital transformation programs. Through its Digital Twins, it drives cognitive automation, leading to smarter, faster decisions. And of course, the company must invest in its most important asset, its people, by upskilling its talent and building digital fluency across the organization.
Unilever is consistently improving its Supply Chain agility to build capacity intelligently in its eco-system and focus on changing consumer needs and channel shifts. Finally, Unilever must ensure it nurtures an ecosystem of partners so that it innovates and builds resilient solutions to win in the marketplace and achieve its vision of making sustainable living commonplace.
Most Succinct Advice to Aspirant Entrepreneurs in Supply Chain In conclusion, Wendy imparts some excellent pieces of advice to emerging entrepreneurs:
Supply Chain sits at the heart of the business – the place to be
Approach everything you do with Passion and Purpose.
Understand the shadow you cast—Self Awareness.
Diversity and Value Inclusion.
Opportunities that help you achieve your life's ambitions.
Above all, always hold true to your Core Values.
“Unilever aims to be a force for good – for people and the planet – and invite others to join it in making the world a better place for future generations to come.”
