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In our sixth annual Pros to Know issue, Supply & Demand Chain Executive is again highlighting those executives working day in and day out to give their companies a competitive edge by transforming their supply chains. This year, our theme was leadership.

What is leadership? Retired Gen. Colin Powell, keynoting at the Transformation ‘06 conference put on by Yellow Transportation in Las Vegas this February, said that the essence of leadership is, in fact, the ability to create "followership." It's knowing where you're going, and how you're going to get there, such that those in your charge will follow you, in Gen. Powell's words, "if only out of curiosity."

As on the field of battle, in the supply chain world, leadership is the quality that allows executives to rally their colleagues to the cause of supply chain transformation in a time of uncertainty; to effect change in the face of entrenched constituencies and institutional inertia; and to transcend their own functional interests to pursue — and achieve — goals that bring benefits to the enterprise as a whole.

This year, as in the past, we highlight not just supply chain Practitioner Pros to Know — executives at manufacturing or non-manufacturing enterprises charged with managing and transforming their company's supply chain — but also Provider Pros to Know, executives working for a software firms, service providers, and consultancies and research firms who have made significant contributions to the supply chain field.

In today's economic environment, the ability of supply chain executives to demonstrate leadership is increasingly becoming a differentiator for enterprises of all sizes. Supply & Demand Chain Executive salutes this year's Pros to Know, who are contributing to their companies' competitive advantage and, in doing so, transforming supply chain into a leading function within today's global corporations.

2006 Practitioner of the Year

Tim Carroll Vice President, Supply Chain Operations, IBM When IBM sold its PC business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo, Big Blue's leadership hand-picked the company's vice president of supply chain operations, Tim Carroll, to orchestrate the supply chain divestiture of the PC business to Lenovo. Less than five months after IBM's December 2004 announcement of the sale, phase one of the divestiture was complete. Under Carroll's leadership, nearly 2,500 people around the world from IBM and Lenovo worked day and night to enable processes and systems; transfer thousands of applications and Lotus Notes databases to the new company; and customize systems and infrastructure to support sales and marketing, human resources and an entirely new ledger system — all without disrupting either company's clients.

Within IBM, Carroll is also a mentor for several supply chain employees, advising them on their careers and opportunities. Externally, he works with several universities, including Penn State, Michigan State and Arizona State through IBM's Supply Chain Lab program, speaks with students about IBM's supply chain challenges and works with them to develop solutions. In addition, Carroll frequently shares his knowledge of the supply chain and specific best practices at IBM with the industry through conferences and published articles.

When asked about the future direction of the supply and demand chain, he said: "Outsourcing the commodity functions of a supply chain is going to become reality for many supply chains over the next several years...Outsourcing is more than just a trend but an opportunity for growth. By allowing companies to focus on their core competencies, cash can be freed up for acquisitions, R&D and stock buybacks."

2006 Practitioner Pros to Know

Gary Allen Senior eCommerce Manager, Global Supply Chain Management, Vodafone Established goals for and transformed mobile telecommunications firm Vodafone's procurement organization. New platform is used by more than 600 internal Vodafone users/buyers and 1,350 supplier organizations. Vodafone cites exponential savings, increased spend visibility and enhanced contract compliance as a result of Allen's leadership.

Allen believes that the next major trend in supply chain management will be closer and tighter integration with suppliers, as well as a specific focus on enhancing these relationships. This is taking the shape of B2B commerce platforms such as the one currently being implemented in Vodafone for Supply Chain direct transaction, interfacing with its strategic vendors, achieving process and cost savings, and driving adherence to strategic sourcing. Allen said there will also be fewer configurations driving upstream and downstream benefits. Future leverage will be gained by undertaking deeper, more detailed compliance programs, automating the verification that goods are being supplied to previously negotiated quality, cost and contract parameters, along with supplier performance enhancement.

Roland Bastiaensen Acting Director — Optical Networking Product Team Lead, Lucent Technologies Leads a team spanning three continents to ensure all supply chain functions are effectively carried out over the entire lifecycle of Lucent's Optical Networking product. Lucent presented Bastiaensen with the company's Supply Chain Networks Leadership Award for encouraging his team to think outside the box with regard to supply chain collaboration.

One trend in the supply and demand chain that Bastiaensen said he sees is the early engagement of supply chain professionals in the design process. "The cost of the supply chain is inherent in the design of the product," he says. "For example, it is much easier to reduce the installation costs of a product during the design phase than it would be to develop a simpler installation process after the fact. This is where the idea of cross-functional [Product Team Leads] is key — they play the extra role in design choices that a traditional product engineer might not play."

Scott Brown Manager, Supply Chain Analysis & Design, Plexus Brown has employed his 24+ years of professional supply chain experience to develop the ultimate example of lean flow initiatives in all supply chains at contract electronics manufacturing firm Plexus. His area of responsibility has had an ROI of over 300 percent annually.

According to Brown, the current trend of synchronizing supply chains across organizations will strengthen and continue. "Supply chains compete; not companies," he states. "This requires the ability to design and maintain a fully synchronized supply chain across companies and around the globe." Brown continues, saying that he is convinced that industry is at a nexus of capabilities, from computing power to software capability, both in terms of design and executions and maintenance of supply chains. "The old push tools of [manufacturing resource planning (MRP)], and guessing at what lead-time is needed, drive tremendous waste into the supply chain, as well as cost. Pulling materials is the only answer that can eliminate this. What is different [about our approach today is that we are] using a scientific basis to design the supply chain and its control parameters to achieve what is required at lowest total cost."

Jimmy Carter Director of Procurement, Blockbuster Inc. Jimmy Carter began his procurement career at Blockbuster Inc. in 1995. His role consisted of managing the McKinney, Texas, distribution center maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) and retail store supplies procurement. His responsibilities expanded to Director of Procurement in 2000 with the development of a formal Strategic Sourcing department (indirect goods and services). Oversight of national Purchasing Card and Fleet Vehicle Programs was added in 2003.

Carter has led his team through the formulation, implementation and enforcement of the sourcing and vendor management process. Technical and process improvement initiatives have transformed the procurement function from an execution-oriented organization to a central knowledge base for spend and supplier management. This ongoing transformation has included the addition of Spend Analytics, Contract Management, Supplier Master and Online RFx tools supported by a comprehensive procure-to-pay policy and, most recently, an upgraded enterprise resource planning (ERP) system incorporating UNSPSC taxonomy. In the last two years his department has initiated over 50 online events and developed a comprehensive corporate contract repository and contract template library. The goal of establishing a world-class procurement function is by nature an ongoing process, but progress to date has given Blockbuster the means to manage corporate spend at a level never previously achieved.