The supply chain management market has grown in recent years and will continue to do so – it is predicted to double by 2026 compared to 2020. This development will place new demands on the industry. With the theme “Supply chain – the new driver for business success”, 4flow welcomed supply chain decision-makers to the 4flow Supply Chain Connect event for consumer goods and retail in Hamburg, Germany, on June 6, 2024. Speakers from Beiersdorf, Coca-Cola, Mars, Nestlé and more provided insights into successful strategies and supply chain trends in the consumer goods and retail industry. “4flow Supply Chain Connect is about bringing together companies that otherwise interact as competitors, customers or suppliers, and creating a platform for open exchange,” said Lennart Brueggemann-von Ackern, partner at 4flow consulting.
Author
Elena-Sophie Flach
Content marketing
4flow
Supply chain management as a leadership topic
Vineet Khanna, former Head of Supply Chain at Nestlé and advisor for 4flow, set the tone with a keynote on “Mastering supply chain leadership: boardroom strategies”. He spoke about the key to a successful leadership style in supply chain management. “Leadership is not a person or position in the company, it is a behavior. No matter if you’re a CEO, manager or another employee – all of us can lead”, said Khanna. Leadership is about taking initiative and accepting responsibility, he explained.
This kind of leadership is crucial, especially in supply chain management, where businesses must react to constantly changing circumstances while considering corporate goals and many stakeholders. Khanna also emphasized the relevance of the supply chain for the entire corporate ecosystem: Goals such as customer centricity, resilience and sustainability can only be achieved with a well considered supply chain.
Discussions and inspiration for a future-ready supply chain
In a panel discussion on the topic “How to sell your supply chain project to your executive board”, Vineet Khanna then exchanged ideas with Fei Yu from Alcott Global, Andreas Kowalski from Redpoint New Energy and Ksenija Leverenz from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. The discussion illustrated that every business idea needs a good story to be convincing.
Another discussion was dedicated to the topic “Resilience, sustainability, and/or cost savings – is it possible to achieve all three at the same time?”. Ashish Joshi from Mars, Leonardo Marins from British American Tobacco, Dr. Ilija Coric from Beiersdorf and Sasipriya Janarthanan from tesa spoke about different businesses’ approches to prioritizing and achieving supply chain objectives such as customer satisfaction, resilience and cost management. Carbon reduction emerged as an important goal for all panelists.
Participants also gained valuable insights into strategies for industry success in presentations by Joachim Lindner from Metro and John Bakker from Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE). 4flow also presented supply chain strategies in a keynote on “Future supply chain challenges and a call to action for end-to-end supply chain orchestration” by Lennart Brueggemann-von Ackern.
This event brought together supply chain experts and offered a unique platform for exciting discussions, sharing innovation and exchanging ideas. Inspired by the insights shared, we’re looking forward to the next 4flow Supply Chain Connect.
