Supply chain professionals still not fully represented at board level 

24 Jul 2015 |Ellis Hawthorne Almost 60% of logistics professionals in FMCG feel underrepresented at senior board level. A poll by The Grocer of over 150 industry professionals at the Scala Annual Logistics Debate 2015 revealed the majority feel their function in logistics is not accurately represented within the rest of their company. “Influence at this level is now needed more than ever as companies have the opportunity to make, or not make, critical decisions about how they operate their supply chains,” said Scala senior consultant Simon Eagle. “The companies that are successfully innovating in collaboration and demand driven are those in which logistics have significant ‘share of voice’ and this requires board level representation.” However it would seem that the voice of those in supply chain and logistics is more audible than in recent years. “If you’d have posed that question three or four years ago, you would have had an even higher percentage,” said independent logistics consultant Paul Nixon. “I think the function is better represented today and people perceive it to be better represented. As the likes of e­commerce and business to consumer fulfilment continues to grow for many retail businesses the supply­chain and logistics efficiency and effectiveness will continue to grow in importance and representation.”