Yes, Abby, there is a Santa Claus

December 6, 2011
8:34 pm

Happy holidays to all.
I started this blog in 2010, and have grown the readership to over 3000 regular readers. At first, very few people would post back. <To say that the traditional supply chain audience is a bit uncomfortable with twitter and blogging is an understatement.> As the blog matured, it attracted a different audience. I now have a number of university students of SCM following me. I find it very rewarding to get their comments. Last week, a reader replied to my supply chain trends piece:
“As a current graduate student in Supply Chain Management, I have seen significant discussion on talent management. Is this a trend that you are seeing? And, can you give some advice to graduates on how to improve their skills to align with what employers are seeking? I stumbled upon your blog a couple of months ago, and have really enjoyed your perspective on the challenges and opportunities within supply chain roles.”
Abby, I don’t know you, but this blog post is designed to answer your question. In short, the answer to your question is YES. I feel a bit like I am answering the inquiry by Virginia on September 21, 1897 which was answered by the famous editorial of The New York Sun, “Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus.” His reply was that Santa exists as love and generosity. My answer is that there will be very different jobs than the jobs that you see today.
If you are the Abigail Mayer of Plymouth University, UK born in 1990, you are in the third generation of supply chain leaders. My generation is currently passing the baton to the second generation. I write this blog post so that all of you and your classmates may find rewarding jobs in the world of supply chain management. Here I answer your question, and give advice to new graduates entering the world of Supply Chain Management
Making the Transition
The term supply chain management is new. It was first used widely by the audience in the period of 1992-1995. As the baton is passed, let’s celebrate the legacy. Within the last two years, leaders like Donald Bowersox of Georgia Tech, Dick Clark of Procter and Gamble, Eli Goldratt leader of the AGI-Goldratt Institute, Tom Mentzer of University of Tennessee and Stefan Theis of SAP have died. 30% of the people that I am interviewing have retired or are ready to retire. My first words of advice is spend time with these folks to learn the evolution of the concepts. Understand what it was like before technology made the concept of Supply Chain Management possible. These were the days when writing meant a pad of paper and a pencil, when a presentation focused on the right transparencies and bulbs for the overhead projectors, the creation of a report involved lots of white-out and typewriters, and the final report was sent by inter-office mail. Calculations were done on adding machines and mainframes. The concepts of near real-time data and predictive analytics were as much a fantasy then as Santa Claus is today.
The second generation of supply chain professional (ages 35-50) is where we are currently seeing the greatest talent issues. This is the generation that implemented ERP, ecommerce, and Advanced Planning Systems (APS). They were often the boots on the ground for the global supply chain. Many of them were pioneers: relocating their families and learning the nuances of global supply chain management the hard way. In short, there are too few of these trained individuals to fill the gaps of the retirees. The good news is that if you learn fast, you can help fill-in the gap.
I see from LinkedIn, that you are in the third generation. We give thanks that academic programs are fueling the wave for the third generation of workers, but we are unsure what your world will look like. We think that the forecast entry-level jobs will be rosy, but we are unsure of how SCM practices will evolve. To help you, I share five pieces of advice:

Get good at Math. SCM is a world where math geeks excel. Be proud of it, but learn how to use data to drive value-based outcomes. Think analytically, and use it to influence cross-functional groups. Data for the sake of data or math for the sake of math does us no good.
It starts with Clarity of Strategy. I cannot count the times that I hear that it is about “people, process and technology.” Yawn, I say. I think that the REAL secret to supply chain excellence is alignment on supply chain strategy. If this is done right, it is the foundational building block to aligning people, building processes and selecting technology. Without the clarity on what is supply chain excellence, the world circles, functional organizations cannot align, and the technologies never work. Help to forge clarity in the organizations where you go on supply chain strategy.
Take what you have learned in School with a Grain of Salt. No two supply chains are the same, and no one company has it all figured out. Leave school with a solid foundation of the concepts, but realize that these practices are evolving. The real world is not as absolute as the writings of textbooks. Embrace the fact that SCM is ever-changing based on market drivers. Learn to think outside-in. Start first with what is happening in outside markets and then map the possibilities outside-in.
Learn to ask the Hard Questions, but nicely. It is not a world for a “bull in a China Shop”, but there are a lot of paradigms that need to be broken. Learn to ask the tough questions, but with respect. Ask how processes evolved, and what they could become if we could improve data quality, reduce latency and build stronger cross-functional processes.
Learn to Dance with the World of Gray. In SCM, there are no black and white answers. Success happens when you can take the world of gray and see patterns, build processes and forge bonds cross-functionally.

I am spending the month of December, staring out my window, writing. I am working on a book on Supply Chain Management (SCM). The working title is Bricks Matter, a Market-driven approach to Supply Chain Management. To prepare, I have interviewed 50 supply chain executives. It has been a time to reflect, and give thanks for a rich career in SCM. Abby, I hope you have the same.
I would love thoughts from others. This is my start on insights for Abby and her peers. Any advice to share for Abby?

The Myth of End-to-End Planning

July 31, 2026 9:14 pm

Supply chain planning, supply management, supply chain execution, network design, and transportation/logistics management operate in silos. Not much has changed over four decades. The connections flow back through transactional systems: order-to-cash and procure-to-pay. There is a myth that companies can buy an end-to-end supply chain management solution. This is largely a myth. Here we explain.

Lead Time: A Broken Gossamer

July 16, 2026 6:38 pm

If you are struggling with supply chain planning, dancing in the light of shiny objects, and scratching your head, please read on. My goal is to help you.

Please do not AI Stupid. What do I mean? AI Stupid is putting agents and agentics on top of existing architectures believing that making them faster and hands free add value. To me, this is fools play.

I love AI. I am excited about new technologies. To this end, I want to shine a light on how new technologies can help address the black holes and inconsistencies in today’s supply chain, which largely stem from the limitations of the first generation of supply chain planning and execution technologies. In this blog, I give you three places to start.

Do You Need a Supply Chain Coach?

July 9, 2026 5:27 pm

Supply chain is where the rubber hits the road. For a public company, over 40% of market capitalization is tied to the trade-offs between growth, operating margin, inventory management, and Return on Capital Employed.

The road for supply chain improvement is fraught with issues. Here we share some and offer some advice.

Is your Supply Chain AI Ready?

June 11, 2026 2:39 pm

A simple quiz to assess an organization’s AI readiness.

The pace of change is fast and furious. Every day, technology advances faster than we can digest. A great challenge to have.

Determining whether a supply chain is “AI-ready” is less about technology and more about the gray matter between the ears of supply chain leaders. Leadership, alignment, and clarity of goals matter.

Too few companies are clear on the definition of supply chain excellence. Measuring and rewarding functional metrics reduces the firm’s value. Putting agentics on top of today’s processes can make bad practices run faster, reducing value.

The toughest job for the supply chain leader is challenging existing supply chain paradigms that were defined by the limitations of decades of supply chain technologies. As the curtain lifts on the potential of new forms of technology, process redefinition is our opportunity, but only if we are clear on what drives value. (Here, I link to the Supply Chains to Admire reports to help you define value. The next report will be published on June 23rd, along with my Dynamic Benchmarking Product, to help you define value in the face of your AI readiness. More information about the launch is at the bottom of this blog.)

Case Study: A Scrappy Demand Management Approach

June 9, 2026 5:37 pm

This study of Franklin Sports shines a light on the work that needs to be done at the sales account level to challenge a retail forecast, and also highlights the importance of a new technique for a forecast engine — reinforcement learning.

Artificial intelligence comes in many forms — large language models, generative AI, machine learning, unstructured text mining, deep learning, neural networks, reinforcement learning, agents, and agentics. While the industry is wigging out about agentics, I think reinforcement learning is a great step forward in the journey of Artificial Intelligence.

Can We Side-Step the AI Spin Cycle?

June 7, 2026 3:44 pm

When it comes to combining tech, 1+1+1 should equal more than 1. The impact should be exponential. Unfortunately, today, the answer is 0.

What do I mean? Let me explain.

I find that the supply chain technology market moves slowly along traditional technology lines. Conferences are usually focused on the use of technology, not on redefining work. This bothers me. I want it to bother you as well.

Here I share some insights to drive change.

Supply Chain Shaman