Supply chain leaders are among the most skilled problem-solvers in any organization. Yet when it comes to one of the most consequential systems they oversee, the development of their own people, many apply far less rigor, intentionality, and urgency. The cost of that gap is no longer theoretical. According to McKinsey’s 2024 Global Supply Chain Leader Survey, 90% of supply chain leaders report their organizations lack sufficient talent and skills to meet their digitization goals. This figure has not meaningfully improved since McKinsey first began tracking it in 2020. The organizations closing that gap are pulling ahead. Those who are not will be left behind.
Learning and development should involve structured, role-specific capability building across three levels:
1. Foundational knowledge for the broad workforce: end-to-end demand and supply chain concepts, digital literacy, data fluency
2. Targeted functional expertise for core practitioners: demand planners, buyers, logistics managers, S&OP leaders
3. Advanced capability building for high-potentials: structured problem solving, data & advanced analytics, change leadership, top-down communications, AI literacy
The most effective programs invest in all three; organizations that skip foundational or mid-level development in favor of only developing leaders consistently underperform on transformation outcomes.
Here are five ways leaders can build a culture in which employees own their learning journeys and leaders are the most visible proof that growth never stops.
1. Model the growth you want to see
When a supply chain VP talks about the importance of continuous learning while never visibly engaging in it herself, her team absorbs the message that development is something you encourage in others, not something you actually do.
Have honest, regular assessments of your job satisfaction, considering job fit, whether your manager enables the best in you, and the culture.
The most powerful signal a leader can send is a personal one: I am actively working on my own capabilities, I want you to know it, and I want you to do the same.
2. Systematically identify the gaps
One of the most powerful inputs to that process is structured 360-degree feedback, gathered from every level of the organization. In supply chain, where we interact with a broad set of stakeholders, the gaps that surface in 360-degree feedback often cost the organization service quality, agility, and speed.
The skills that are missing today are increasingly technical and digital, and they must be mapped at the role level, not just the individual level. A demand planner needs different capabilities than a logistics coordinator. A procurement manager needs different upskilling than an S&OP leader. Addressing these requires mapping role-by-role capability requirements against current skill profiles. Identify the gaps systematically. Treat the data seriously. Then build development plans that address them specifically, not generically.
3. Make learning role-specific, strategically linked, and always on
Digital transformation has changed who needs to develop, how quickly, and the stakes of falling behind.
McKinsey Global Institute’s November 2025 report found that today’s demonstrated technologies could already automate activities accounting for 57% of U.S. work hours, and that nearly every occupation will experience skill shifts by 2030. Supply chain functions are among the most heavily exposed to this shift. The 2025 Gartner AI Adoption in Supply Chain Survey found that while 94% of supply chain workers whose organizations have deployed AI are open to using it, only 36% know how to actually integrate it. That gap, between willingness and capability, is where competitive advantage is won or lost. The solution is targeted, role-specific capability building aligned with where the organization is headed, with development plans that link each person’s growth to the business’s 3- to 5-year strategic plan.
The most effective programs invest in foundational end-to-end knowledge for all, advanced functional training for core practitioners, and mastery-level development for high-potentials. Companies that develop only the top layer and ignore the middle and frontline consistently fail to realize returns on their technology investments because the people operating those systems lack the skills to use them effectively. This is not a peripheral risk: McKinsey’s research has long found that nearly 70% of supply chain transformation programs fail, and the leading reason is that employees lack the skills and capabilities to support the change. Capability gaps do not just slow transformation — they derail it. And it is always-on, not episodic.
4. Put employees in the driver's seat and give them the support to lead
A learning culture is not one where the organization develops people. It is one where people develop themselves, and the organization makes that possible. The distinction matters enormously. When employees are handed development plans created by someone else, they are passengers. They become drivers when they are expected to assess their own gaps, shape their own learning journeys, and take ownership of their growth in service of both their personal aspirations and the organization's needs.
Gartner recommends defining learner personas by role — a frontline warehouse operator needs foundational AI literacy and robotics awareness, while a supply chain transformation leader needs the strategic acumen to champion AI adoption at the enterprise level. Role-calibrated, self-directed development serves both. Results are deeper and last longer when leaders invest in coaching that works at both the technical and adaptive levels, helping people build new skills while also surfacing the internal assumptions that may be limiting their growth.
5. Lead visible initiatives that build capability while delivering results
The most effective learning cultures are built into the work itself, through cross-functional projects, strategic initiatives, and job rotations, where people are stretched beyond their comfort zones and allowed to grow in real time. Leaders who create those opportunities for themselves and for their teams accelerate development in a way no curriculum can replicate.
Seek out or sponsor high-visibility initiatives that demand new capabilities: network redesigns, procurement transformations, AI and advanced planning system implementations, or demand-supply integration efforts. These are examples where specific upskilling is built through doing: a planner learns demand sensing by running a live AI-assisted forecast; a buyer learns ESG risk scoring by applying it to an actual supplier portfolio; and a logistics manager learns real-time visibility tools by managing a live carrier network transition. Organizations that embed learning into strategic initiatives see both faster skill acquisition and stronger initiative outcomes.
The demand and supply chain function has been defined by its ability to adapt to shifting markets, disrupted networks, and rising customer expectations. The leaders who navigate most effectively will be those who bring that same adaptive capacity to their people: building teams where every individual owns their growth, where digital capability is expected across every role, and where learning is embedded into the culture. The organizations that treat workforce upskilling as a strategic priority today are the ones that will still be competitive tomorrow. Those who don’t commit to it will find themselves outpaced by the accelerating gap between what their teams can do and what the market demands.
That culture starts with you. Model it first. Build it deliberately. And see what your organization becomes capable of.
