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By Andrew K. Reese and Sarah Murray

In C-level suites and boardrooms around the world, Supply Chain increasingly is viewed as a strategic function. CEOs and CFOs are coming to understand the supply chain's impact not only on the bottom line but on the top line as well. Yes, as a function, Supply Chain must continue to deliver year-over-year efficiencies, reducing costs and ensuring greater return on assets. But chief executives also are recognizing that revenue growth depends, to a significant extent, on the ability of their supply chains to provide a competitive edge.

With this, Supply & Demand Chain Executive's seventh annual Pros to Know feature, we are highlighting the men and women who are driving the transformation initiatives and achieving the successes that are helping Supply Chain earn recognition as a true strategic partner to the business. By turning the spotlight onto these Practitioner Pros to Know, we are not only recognizing their accomplishments but also offering them as role models for other executives looking to take their own organizations to a higher, more strategic level within the enterprise.

We also are highlighting Provider Pros to Know — executives at supply chain solution and services providers, as well as analysts and consultants — who have made significant contributions to elevating the status of Supply Chain. Their collective role as "enablers" of transformation cannot be underestimated and is deserving of recognition, too.

As a function, Supply Chain has made great strides in recent years, but much work remains to be done. Our 2007 Pros to Know are continuing to raise the bar within their companies and their industries, and Supply & Demand Chain Executive both salutes their achievements and looks forward to reporting on their continued successes.

2007 Pro of the Year

Milton Young, Subsea Global Sourcing Director, FMC Technologies

Young joined FMC Technologies, a global leader providing mission-critical technology solutions for the energy, food processing and air transportation industries, in 2004. He is responsible for global aggregation and sourcing of strategic commodities, which includes setting up long-term agreements, integrating demand and supply capacity planning and developing supplier capabilities.

When the implementation of a new ERP system at FMC sapped the company of its previous levels of productivity, Young stepped in by providing cross-functional workshops to identify and utilize existing supply chain functionality within the new system. He has also helped Supply Chain achieve recognition as a strategic function within FMC by championing a cross-functional project to create an integrated demand and supply forecast, creating opportunities for senior executives to interact with strategic suppliers and exchange knowledge about market requirements, and creating market analysis and disseminating it to all locations and functions for use in customer discussions. His group won the FMC Technologies award for excellence in procurement in 2006 for their global sourcing of raw materials.

Young said he believes it is important to recognize Supply Chain as a strategic function within the enterprise because Supply Chain "provides access to resources and capabilities that support the firm's competitive competencies and positioning, is a major factor in profitability and delighting the customer, and is a conduit to intelligence on market pricing and competitor capabilities."

Young has also presented on procurement and China sourcing at several industry conferences and is currently on the Advisory Council for the David C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering at Mississippi State University.

Practitioner Pros to Know

Jean Baderschneider
Vice President, Procurement, ExxonMobil Global Services Company
Formed from the merger of two major players in its sector, ExxonMobil has been recognized for developing a Procurement function that provides critical support to the company's business units while also ensuring global procurement process. Heading up Procurement, Baderschneider has led the function to become a major contributor to the company's continued business success.

Tim Beauchamp
Senior Vice President, Distribution Operations, Corporate Express
Mergers and acquisitions are a challenging part of making sure the supply chain runs at peak performance, but that is where Beauchamp shines. In May 2001, Corporate Express acquired US Office Products, and Beauchamp was appointed the executive owner of the integration effort, which was definitively labeled a success. Through his efforts, the company's distribution network is recognized as the foundation of the strategic partnership existing between the Operations and Sales organizations within Corporate Express.

Karl Braitberg
Senior Director of Global Demand Management and Planning, Cisco Systems
Braitberg's message of supply chain management's importance is resonating at every level within Cisco. He leads the planning of Cisco's large and complex worldwide supply chain, with emphasis on flawless execution, continuous improvement and data-driven analysis. Braitberg is also driving Cisco's "Demand Management Excellence," which addresses demand volatility challenges and the complexities of global supply and demand balancing, and he is a key leader of "Cisco Lean," an initiative that implements Lean manufacturing principles in an outsourced supply chain.

Scott Brown
Manager Supply Chain Analysis & Design, Plexus
Uncertainty is a given within the supply chain, but those companies that face it head on, like Plexus, are poised for competitive success in the future. Thanks to Brown's development and deployment of an integrated advanced inventory optimization toolset, Plexus has reduced inventory and improved service levels, as well as reduced materials management overhead. The company now has the highest return on capital employed (ROCE) levels in its industry (>30 percent), and supply chain management is frequently mentioned by Plexus executives as a key strategic competency.

Steven J. Cassady
Director — Global Procurement, Kohler Co.
Procurement at Kohler Co. has quickly evolved from a business-unit-by-business-unit focus into a truly global approach under Cassady's vision and leadership. Upon his arrival, Cassady established the Global Procurement organization, which focused on uniting all 17 of Kohler's global purchasing groups to create the maximum value for the business each serves and the company as a whole. All subsequent initiatives required collaboration with and acceptance by top management of the business units and groups, which Cassady led across the company.

Richard Garza
CIO, The Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM)
Under the leadership of its CIO, Garza, NEXCOM is currently involved in an overhaul of its supply chain operation. The $75 million project centers on the rollout of retail applications for which NEXCOM anticipates full payback in fiscal year 2009. In fact, NEXCOM already attributes a 5.2 percent improvement in retail sales last fiscal year to better product availability from the system. NEXCOM has also achieved increased in-stock positions while reducing overall inventory by upwards of 5.5 percent.

Myron Gramelspacher
Vice President, Global Logistics & Indirects, Greif Inc.
Recognizing that there was an opportunity to gain greater visibility and savings within the transportation and indirect categories, Gramelspacher has led Greif's Global Sourcing & Supply Chain organization to, among other initiatives, conduct strategic sourcing to establish preferred supplier contracts across major indirect categories. By attacking categories with the greatest visibility and driving additional savings from cost, recovery and service standpoints, initial skepticism diminished and awareness of Supply Chain as a strategic entity increased throughout the company.

Steven Lee
General Manager, Global Indirect Purchasing, The Timken Company
For Timken, the supply chain is a competitive weapon, enabling them to create operating efficiencies, drive cost savings and be positioned to support future company needs. Under Lee's leadership, the Indirect Procurement group has undergone a significant strategic transformation, creating a centralized organization, reinvesting and refocusing its resources into global commodity management and outsourcing non-core purchasing activities. Through strategic partnerships, Lee's organization has driven savings opportunities and operating efficiencies across Timken's indirect spend.

Chris Martin
Senior Director, Purchasing, Universal Orlando
Martin has been a driving force behind increasing the visibility of Universal Orlando's Sourcing group. This increase visibility has led to more involvement in the acquisition process and increased savings opportunities. In fact, Universal Orlando's Management has concluded that vendor relationships, risk mitigation, supplier performance and optimal total cost of ownership are integral to the strategic process of the organization — all things that Martin has been deeply involved with and continues to push for more improvements.