Meet our 2021 Supply & Demand Chain Executive Pros to Know

Disruption and volatility challenged even the best and brightest supply chain practitioners in 2020. It took a unique set of skills to meet the moment and to help others do the same. That’s why we are especially proud to share that members of the Kinaxis team have been recognized for their ability to do just that as part of Supply and Demand Chain Executive’s 2021 Pros to Know (full list here).

Each year, SDCE recognizes those “whose accomplishments offer a roadmap for other leaders looking to leverage supply chain competitive advantage.” Get to know our honorees and the work that has distinguished them in this remarkable year.

Claire Milner, SVP, EMEA

“While supply chain has always been a fairly academic subject – particularly in Europe – as the world has become more digital, it's clear that educating people not just on supply chain theory, but on the practicalities of how to work and manage a supply chain is critical.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way business was done across organizations, Claire focused on providing companies with the expertise and insight needed to shape their supply chains' “new normal.” Technology is only an enabler for change – people matter just as much, and communication, collaboration and education are what’s most important to driving transformation.

Claire provided supply chain practitioners with the ability to rethink their ways of working and planning, giving them the tools they needed to solve major challenges, break down information silos and close gaps in understanding. “My job is to create an environment of creative conflict,” she says. “If you enable people to bring their best selves to work and create an environment where it’s a good thing to disagree but with respect for another’s position, innovation happens.”

Patrick Van Hull, Industry Thought Leader

“One of the biggest challenges working in supply chain is acknowledging that we are all human, and that as humans, we have a limited capacity of what we can do. In supply chain, we are expected to do a lot.”

Patrick began 2020 focusing on supply chain trends, but he quickly shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic. As day-to-day supply chain practices became insufficient to keep up with constantly changing circumstances, he realized supply chain excellence would come down to making good decisions over and over again based upon the information that was available at that moment.

Patrick’s work is now centered around giving supply chain practitioners the tools they need to make smart, informed decisions without escalating an issue to a manger or senior leadership. He is a big believer in mental models and the use of feedback loops to continually shape thinking, and this approach has become essential when there are so many choices to be made in the modern supply chain. Patrick has helped spread this message via various thought leadership channels, ultimately helping others see the amazing opportunities that arise when mental models and operating models align within supply chain planning.

With the COVID-19 pandemic creating new and unprecedented issues throughout the entire supply chain, many of Kinaxis’s customers have faced new challenges and needed more support than ever before. From rerouting product around regions undergoing lockdown to understanding new patterns of demand, our Business Consulting team made it their goal to always be on the leading edge of what was happening in the industry. That way, they could provide smart, insightful recommendations whenever their customers needed them, no matter what kind of disruption they were experiencing.

Although the team was used to traveling around the world to meet face-to-face, this quickly became impossible. Thankfully, the team practices what it preaches: Resilience and agility are key. They were able to swiftly shift their processes to be conducive to remote work, allowing them to continue meeting customers’ and prospects’ needs, build their confidence and teach them how to use Kinaxis solutions most effectively for their business.