In many companies, development seems constant: projects are launched, slides are produced, meetings are held, and tasks are assigned. There is plenty of motion – but very little direction.
Too often, development becomes purely reactive. Problems are patched with band-aids, but root causes are never addressed. Once a project ends, old habits return – and new issues quickly surface, waiting for yet another quick fix.
This is especially true in supply chain (SCM) planning. It is a complex domain shaped by demand fluctuations, inventory management, delivery reliability, and a constantly shifting network. Geopolitical risks, tariffs, and sudden market disruptions push this complexity to an entirely new level. Adding to the challenge, many supply chain and logistics professionals tend to focus on firefighting — reacting to immediate problems — because it provides a sense of urgency and accomplishment, almost like a dopamine hit. As a result, proactive planning and prevention often take a back seat to short-term fixes.
When management relies only on visible facts – for example, a short SOE horizon (2–3 months) such as the current order book – the bigger picture is missed. In this case, reliable and shared planning models that prepare the company for the future are never created. Instead, situations keep catching the company by surprise. Each time, leadership reacts in the moment, basing decisions on whatever visible fact is most immediately available: a short order book, a current inventory snapshot, or “outdated “ excel data. The result is a state of permanent reactivity – fixing this customer, this warehouse, or this factory – but never building enduring capability.
The problem grows when leadership is concentrated in a small circle. At the SCM SVP and VP levels, roles are often reduced to micromanagement and task distribution. Directors become little more than supervisors or message carriers, rather than capability builders who support experts and develop the organization. Meanwhile, valuable experience within the company goes unused: people who have managed warehouses, optimized supply chains, or served as specialists elsewhere are sidelined because “that is not part of their current role.”
The result is an illusion of development: external advice is followed, projects are executed, and tasks are distributed – but without vision, direction, or the full use of organizational expertise. Outcomes remain weak, and the organization grows tired.
The lesson is clear: supply chains – and companies as a whole – cannot be run only by numbers or by reacting to a short view like customer order book. Development requires vision, trust, and distributing responsibility across the organization. Leadership should provide direction and enablement, but the true strength lies in recognizing and fully utilizing the expertise already present within the company. That is when motion gains both direction and power.
“Supply chains don’t fail because of complexity, but because leadership reduces them to short-term numbers.”
“Development is not more projects or slides – it is building lasting capability through vision and ownership.”
To be continued; In my next blog, I’ll share my thoughts on how to turn the challenges described above into concrete actions and solutions
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