Companies need to realise the benefit of supply chains, says Professor Jan Godsell
We are all more involved in the supply chain industry than we might think. The products we buy and the places we work can all have some sort of impact on supply chains. We all contribute in some way, and in order to develop good practices in supply chains it has to start with leadership at the top.
Dr Jan Godsell, pictured, professor of operations and supply chain strategy at WMG, University of Warwick, is an expert in this field and has developed supply chain strategies in a number of FTSE 100 companies. She recently spoke at Business Reporter’s Supply Fest 2014 event on how to strategically align your business to get the best results in your supply chain.
“In the UK we talk about the economy being service orientated,” she tells us when we catch up with her post-summit. “People do not realise 80 per cent of our population work in the supply chain. Whether you are a farmer producing food or you work in a factory, have a lorry that moves the food or you’re working in a store to distribute it, that is all helping to feed the nation. Supply chains have an omnipresence that people do not realise.
“The more we can do to help raise the visibility of supply chains and help people understand how they contribute to that positively – not just to the UK economy, but also the European and global economies. That will really help to inspire people to work within it.”
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