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This post is the first in a new series, Raw Materials and Natural Resources in the Supply Chain, which explores the understudied and often misunderstood processes for sourcing natural resources that are used as raw materials by the industries that make the products we buy every day. 

The first Global Supply Chain Institute Advisory Board meeting of 2023 recently took place at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The GSCI Advisory Board, composed of senior leaders from Supply Chain Forum partners representing public and private companies of all sizes, provides guidance and direction for the institute.

Companies’ desires to achieve greater supervision and control over their supply chains are heightened in the post-pandemic business environment, and are understandable when one considers the business disruptions that have occurred. Whether driven by internal needs for increased control, by customer directives, or by the need to become compliant with emerging regulations, companies are aggressively seeking ways to achieve higher levels of visibility, traceability, and transparency for materials and finished goods, as well as the actors that facilitate their movement through supply chains.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business premiered at No. 4 overall, and 2nd among public universities in the U.S. News Best Online Graduate Business Programs ranking released this week. The college is ranked 2nd overall and 1st among U.S. public universities for student veterans. This is the first time the program was eligible to be included in the ranking.

During their research for “Advancing E2E Agile Resiliency in Supply Chains,” GSCI Fellows Dave Demers and Brian Kolek leveraged 22 supply chain leaders from diverse industries. These leaders served as their think tank, providing a roadmap for how organizations can build a more agile resilient supply chain.

The impact of COVID-19’s extreme and lengthy disruption of supply chain designs has been evident in the marketplace performance of many organizations. Supply chain designs that are end-to-end (E2E) and agile are now critical to enterprise performance. But with an agile global network comes complexity, cycle time constraints, and increased disruption risk. Disruptions are a logical expectation: natural disasters, political unrest, trade wars, and epidemics may be rare locally but common globally.

Disruptions are coming harder, faster, and more frequently than before. And supply chain management professionals can no longer shoulder them with creativity and brute force. SCM design must be revamped to balance agility with resiliency. To convince executives and market analysts to act outside of a crisis situation, we need to connect supply chain performance and boardroom metrics.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee recently selected Yemisi “Yem” Bolumole as a member of its Committee on Impacts of Alternative Compensation Methods on Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Retention and Safety Performance. Her first meeting with the committee will be Wednesday, November 9.

End-to-end involves the entire process of the supply chain, from product design and procurement of raw materials to delivery of the final product and after-sale customer service. Effective management of an end-to-end supply chain creates a strong competitive advantage for businesses in crowded markets.

Barbara Melvin, president and CEO of South Carolina Ports, and Annette Danek-Akey, Penguin Random House’s chief supply chain officer, share their thoughts on their supply chain operations.