Leading Supply Chains during Uncertainty

The global business landscape navigates multiple boom and bust cycles marked by outliers. These events require business leaders to embrace bold decisions that pave the path for organizations to be either at the forefront or follow their peers. While often not in the limelight except during crises, the supply chain functions in organizations are essentially the backbone of their operations and are now rightly recognized even at the board levels. The frequency of black swan events in recent times has underpinned the need for supply chains to embrace VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) as the new normal. Now more than ever is the time for leaders at every layer of the supply chain function to imbibe flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking, not just for them but also to encourage their larger teams to ensure that consumer and shareholder expectations are at the heart of every action in the face of adversity, write Rohit Menon- supply chain professional in the fast-moving consumer healthcare sector,, V G Venkatesh- Professor at EM Normandie Business School, France and Haripriya Vasudevan- senior program management professional.