The End-to-End View: A Logistics Professional Climbs to Leadership

摘要

Reuben Slone, executive vice president, supply chain for Naperville, Ill.-based office products company OfficeMax, trained as an engineer at the University of Michigan, and completed the school's requirements for a philosophy degree. In his early career, he applied his background in kinematics, dynamics, and controls, as well Slone has also worked as a management consultant for Ernst and Young; led strategy, information technology, and distribution for auto components manufacturer Federal-Mogul; managed e-commerce for GM and Whirlpool; and run Whirlpool's North American supply chain. The path Slone took from the CAD workstation to the lead supply chain management position at OfficeMax might not look like an obvious one, but there's logic behind his progression. "The systems thinking that I've learned in my philosophy studies and in product development applies to supply chain work," he says Slone's responsibilities at OfficeMax include inventory management, replenishment, imports, supplier managemeni "The understanding of supply chain and its strategic role in business is changing for many supply chain-intensive industries and companies," he observes. Those companies are elevating their top supply chain executives to positions that report directly to the CEO or president of the business unit. "In supply chain-intensive companies, such as retailers or manufacturers, CEOs are coming to understand that one aspect of creating value is supply chain," Slone says. "It's not simply a function in which you want to have minimal costs. It's a function that you want to leverage strategically."