I recently joined Frank Quinn at Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) for the webcast "Getting Supply Chain on the CEO’s Agenda."

I am glad Frank selected this topic, as we’ve been more and more engaged on this very subject. Although "supply chain" is certainly not a new subject, it is new to some CEOs. So it’s the responsibility of the supply chain professional to help CEOs understand how they can use supply chain technology and strategy as a competitive weapon.

Supply chain leaders need to know how to speak the language of the CEO and how to prepare a successful business case. To do this, they need to be able to convey the importance of the supply chain, understand the CEO’s interests, and ensure the supply chain is meeting the interests of the CEO.

So, first, it is essential to communicate to the CEO the importance of the supply chain:

1. The objective of the supply chain is to increase the top line, reduce the cost of performance, and therefore, maximize profits.

2. Increasing the top line comes from the supply chain focus on responding to the customer.

3. Reducing the cost of performance comes from the supply chain focus on total delivered cost.

4. The supply chain focus on responding to the customer involves synchronizing supply with demand while minimizing the impact of variability.

5. The supply chain focus on total delivered cost involves the synergistic reduction of costs of the supply chain (procurement, manufacturing, inventory management, warehousing, transportation, etc.).

We also need to get to the heart of the CEO’s interests:

CEOs are very interested in profitability and happy customers.

 

CEOs are very interested in mitigating risk, forward-looking strategy, and working with, supporting, and encouraging professionals who can help their organizations become more successful.

 

CEOs are very interested in using their time wisely.

And most importantly, answering the following five questions about your supply chain will help determine your CEO’s interest in supply chain:

1. Does the supply chain have a positive impact on profitability and customer satisfaction?

2. Does the supply chain help mitigate risk?

3. Does the supply chain contribute to the forward-looking strategy of the company?

4. Does the supply chain make the organization more successful?

5. Is the time invested in the supply chain by the CEO time well spent?

As companies are pulling out of the recession, CEOs are dealing with the short-term issue: budget. At the same time, they also have a long-term issue on their minds: preparing for the coming boom.

Now is the perfect time to get supply chain on your CEO’s agenda and prepare your competitive weapon for 2010. How do you talk to your CEO about supply chain, and does it yield results? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Go!Go!Go!

Jim

Photo credit: lrargerich