Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Chief of Supply Chain

💰 $170,000 - $300,000

Supply ChainOperationsExecutiveLogisticsProcurement

🎯 Role Definition

The Chief of Supply Chain is the senior leader accountable for the full end-to-end supply chain — including procurement, strategic sourcing, demand planning, manufacturing/fulfillment alignment, warehousing, distribution, transportation, and reverse logistics — to ensure product availability, minimize total cost to serve, and support commercial growth. This role creates and executes a multi-year supply chain strategy, leads cross-functional teams, implements digital and process transformation (ERP, TMS, WMS, analytics), manages global supplier relationships, and protects the business from supply and logistics risk while driving sustainability and compliance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Vice President / VP of Supply Chain
  • Global Head of Logistics or Procurement
  • Director of Operations / Head of Sourcing

Advancement To:

  • Chief Operating Officer (COO)
  • Group Head of Global Supply Chain or Chief Logistics Officer
  • Board Director for Operations / Supply Chain

Lateral Moves:

  • Head of Manufacturing / Head of Fulfillment
  • Head of Commercial Operations / Head of Customer Experience
  • Head of Global Procurement / Chief Sustainability Officer (with focus on supply chain sustainability)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, communicate and execute a multi-year global supply chain strategy that aligns with corporate objectives, supports revenue growth, improves service levels and reduces total cost-to-serve across procurement, production planning, logistics and distribution.
  • Own end-to-end supply chain P&L, set annual budgets and financial targets, and drive continuous improvement to deliver measurable cost savings and margin improvement while preserving service and quality.
  • Lead and scale cross-functional Supply Chain leadership team (procurement, planning, manufacturing operations, warehousing, distribution, transportation, customs and reverse logistics) and build strong bench strength through hiring, coaching and succession planning.
  • Establish and govern a robust Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process to improve forecast accuracy, align capacity to demand, and accelerate commercial decisions.
  • Define and implement strategic sourcing programs and category strategies that leverage global supplier bases to reduce material and service costs, mitigate supply risk and enable innovation.
  • Negotiate and manage supplier contracts, framework agreements and SLAs to secure capacity, optimize payment and pricing terms, and ensure compliance with corporate standards and ethical sourcing policies.
  • Implement inventory optimization strategies (safety stock, multi-echelon inventory optimization, SKU rationalization) to improve cash conversion, reduce obsolete inventory, and increase working capital efficiency.
  • Design and optimize distribution network and transportation strategies (including mode optimization, carrier management, freight consolidation and route optimization) to reduce lead times and freight spend while improving on-time delivery.
  • Lead digital transformation initiatives including ERP rollouts (SAP, Oracle), TMS, WMS, advanced planning systems (APS), and analytics/BI platforms to improve end-to-end visibility, control and decision-making.
  • Define, monitor and report key performance indicators (KPIs) — such as OTIF (on-time in-full), fill rate, forecast accuracy, days of inventory, total delivered cost, supplier performance — and drive accountability through scorecards and governance.
  • Oversee global trade, customs compliance, import/export documentation and trade compliance programs to minimize duties, fines and supply disruption while enabling efficient cross-border flow.
  • Build and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers and logistics partners, including vendor segmentation, joint business planning, supplier development and performance improvement programs.
  • Lead supply chain risk management — scenario planning, dual sourcing, buffer strategies and crisis response — to ensure continuity of supply under disruptions (natural disasters, geopolitical incidents, supplier failures).
  • Drive sustainability and ESG initiatives in the supply chain, including responsible sourcing, carbon footprint reduction, packaging optimization and supplier sustainability audits.
  • Collaborate with product, R&D and quality teams to ensure design for manufacturability, cost reduction, compliance and consistent product/service quality throughout the lifecycle.
  • Sponsor and lead continuous improvement and operational excellence programs (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen) to reduce waste, lead-times and process variability across the supply chain.
  • Oversee capital investments for supply chain infrastructure (warehouses, automation, fulfillment centers) and manage business cases, ROI measurement and vendor selection for major projects.
  • Direct M&A-related supply chain integration and synergy capture, including due diligence, integration planning, operations harmonization and supplier consolidation.
  • Develop and maintain crisis and business continuity plans, lead cross-functional war rooms during disruptions and report impact and recovery plans to executive leadership and the board.
  • Drive customer-facing supply chain improvements — order-to-cash, distribution strategies, last-mile delivery optimization and returns experience — to enhance customer satisfaction and retention.
  • Manage compliance with occupational health & safety and regulatory requirements in warehouses and logistics operations, ensuring a safe and compliant working environment.
  • Oversee procurement of indirect spend and professional services where relevant, ensuring controls, vendor selection discipline and value capture.
  • Act as executive sponsor for advanced analytics and data-driven decision making, partnering with data/IT teams to implement predictive planning, optimization models and machine learning where applicable.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide executive updates and monthly reporting on supply chain KPIs, transformation progress, risk exposures and cost improvement initiatives to the CEO, CFO and board.
  • Support enterprise data initiatives by defining supply chain data requirements, championing master data governance and ensuring data quality for analytics and planning processes.
  • Partner with Finance to refine cost-to-serve models, total landed cost calculations and scenario analysis to support pricing and product portfolio decisions.
  • Facilitate cross-functional workshops (sales, marketing, manufacturing, finance) to translate commercial plans into operational requirements and capacity plans.
  • Mentor and develop high-potential supply chain leaders through structured training, stretch assignments and performance development plans.
  • Lead vendor performance reviews and coordinate corrective action plans for underperforming suppliers and logistics partners.
  • Participate in vendor selection and RFP processes for major supply chain platforms, 3PL partnerships and capital projects.
  • Serve as primary liaison for external audits, regulatory inspections and certifications related to supply chain and logistics operations.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Supply chain strategy and transformation planning (multi-year roadmaps and execution).
  • Strategic sourcing and procurement — category management, RFx, supplier segmentation and contract negotiation.
  • Demand planning and S&OP/IBP process design and facilitation.
  • Inventory optimization methodologies (safety stock modeling, multi-echelon optimization).
  • Logistics & distribution network design, carrier management and freight optimization.
  • Global trade, customs, import/export compliance and tariff management.
  • ERP and planning systems expertise (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, JDA/Blue Yonder, Kinaxis) and integrations.
  • Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) implementation and operations.
  • Advanced analytics and BI tools for supply chain (Power BI, Tableau, SQL, Python familiarity for analytics teams).
  • Lean Six Sigma, continuous improvement and operational excellence methodologies (Black Belt/Green Belt beneficial).
  • Supplier relationship management, vendor scorecards and supplier development programs.
  • Cost-to-serve analysis, P&L ownership and budgeting for supply chain functions.
  • Risk management and business continuity planning for supply chain disruptions.
  • Project and program management for large-scale implementations and capital projects.

Soft Skills

  • Strategic leadership with demonstrated ability to translate strategy into measurable operational results.
  • Strong executive communication: presenting complex supply chain issues clearly to C-suite and board.
  • Collaboration and influencing across functions (sales, finance, operations, IT).
  • Change management and organizational transformation skills to drive adoption and behavioral change.
  • Problem solving and critical thinking under uncertainty and tight timelines.
  • Negotiation and persuasion skills with suppliers, partners and internal stakeholders.
  • People leadership: talent development, coaching and building high-performing teams.
  • Customer focus and commercial orientation to balance service levels and cost.
  • Resilience, decisiveness and ability to perform in high-pressure crisis situations.
  • Ethical judgment and commitment to compliance, sustainability and corporate governance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • MBA or Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Research, Engineering, or Business.
  • Professional certifications such as APICS CSCP/CPIM, ISM CPSM, CIPS, Lean Six Sigma Black/Green Belt are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Supply Chain Management / Logistics
  • Business Administration / Finance
  • Industrial / Systems Engineering
  • Operations Management
  • International Trade / Global Business

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 15+ years progressive experience in supply chain, with at least 7–10 years in senior leadership roles (VP/Head level) and measurable P&L and transformation ownership.

Preferred:

  • Proven experience leading global, multi-site supply chain organizations across procurement, planning, logistics and distribution.
  • Track record delivering large-scale ERP/TMS/WMS implementations, network redesigns or digital supply chain transformations.
  • Demonstrated success in supplier negotiations, cost reduction programs, inventory optimization and supply continuity improvements.
  • Experience in fast-paced, scaling businesses (e.g., retail, manufacturing, e-commerce, CPG, healthcare) and comfortable working with senior leadership and board-level stakeholders.
  • International experience and familiarity with cross-border trade, customs and regulatory environments is a strong plus.
Explore More Careers