Moving the Boat: Change
In supply chain, change isn’t just inevitable—it’s constant. Whether it’s new technology, shifting consumer behavior, supplier disruptions, or organizational restructuring, change happens fast and hits hard. That’s why supply chain leaders must become not just operators—but agents of change.
Over the course of my career, I’ve been part of—and led—many major transformations: ERP transitions, organizational restructurings, the regionalization of supply chain functions, and supporting explosive category growth, including the global surge in demand for products like the Dyson Airwrap. I’ve led teams through role realignments (had quite a few myself), infrastructure expansions, and cross-border logistics evolution. Each of these changes brought unique pressures—but one truth remained: success wasn’t just about the process. It was about managing people through the process.
The Boat: Are You Propelling or Dragging?
Change in supply chain is like rowing a boat. Everyone has to move in sync to create forward motion. But when change hits, not everyone picks up the pace. Some hesitate. Others resist. And some dig their oars into the water, creating drag instead of drive.
Your job as a leader is to identify which team members are helping the boat move forward, and which may be unintentionally slowing things down. That doesn’t mean casting blame—it means adjusting the rhythm. You provide clarity, remove friction, and bring the crew back into alignment. Even a small misalignment can throw the whole system off course.
Long-Term Strategic Change vs. Urgent Tactical Change
Change comes in many forms, but broadly, it falls into two categories:
Long-Term Strategic Change:
Some examples could be implementing an ERP system, redesigning your global distribution network or perhaps introducing ESG or sustainability initiatives, but of course there are many more.
These are multi-year, cross-functional, high-stakes transformations. They require careful planning, broad alignment, and ongoing communication. They also risk change fatigue, making momentum hard to maintain if not managed with empathy and consistency.
High-Speed Tactical Change
Examples of this category might include events such as re-routing during a port strike, onboarding a new 3PL overnight or rapidly launching a new category or product line.
These changes are fast, reactive, and often executed under stress. Success depends on real-time decision-making, frontline enablement, and fluid communication. There’s no time for long training sessions—you rely on clarity, trust, and agility.
Frameworks That Guide Change Effectively
Managing change—whether large or small—can’t be left to instinct alone. These proven frameworks can help guide your approach and tailor it to your situation. Thankfully I still have my textbooks!
Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model
Developed by Harvard Business School professor Dr. John Kotter, this model was introduced in 1995 through his influential book “Leading Change.” Kotter identified that most organizational change efforts fail due to lack of urgency and leadership engagement.
Create urgency
Build a guiding coalition
Develop a vision for change
Communicate the vision
Remove obstacles
Generate short-term wins
Sustain acceleration
Anchor changes in culture
Use it when: Leading a company-wide or multi-year transformation, such as a major system implementation or organizational redesign.
ADKAR Model
Created by Prosci, a leading change management research and training firm, the ADKAR model is a bottom-up, people-centered approach to managing change. It stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement, and focuses on the individual journey through change.
Awareness
Desire
Knowledge
Ability
Reinforcement
Use it when: Driving behavioral or process change, such as launching a new planning tool or adopting new KPIs across teams.
McKinsey 7-S Framework
Introduced in the 1980s by consultants Tom Peters and Robert Waterman while working at McKinsey & Company, this model emphasizes that organizational change is most successful when seven interdependent elements are aligned:
Strategy
Structure
Systems
Shared Values
Skills
Style
Staff
Use it when: Diagnosing misalignment during complex, enterprise-level change where culture and structure must shift together.
Change Leadership vs. Change Management
Managing change is one thing. Leading it is another. Change management is about timelines, deliverables, and documentation. Change leadership is about storytelling, empathy, and action.
Great leaders tell the “why” behind the change—not just the “what”, they over-communicate, especially during ambiguity, they always stay close to their people, not just the dashboards and they lead visibly and with vulnerability
Change is emotional. It disrupts identity, expectations, and routines. Your job is to create safety within the uncertainty, and clarity within the chaos.
Change Is Not a Disruption—It’s the Work
We often treat change like an exception. But in supply chain, change is the job. You can’t always control what hits your network—but you can control how your teams respond. With the right tools, the right mindset, and the right leadership, you can turn resistance into resilience, and disruption into momentum.
So ask yourself: Are you helping the boat move forward? Or are you dragging it down?
In a world where change is constant, that may be the most important question any supply chain leader can answer.
Rejected title slide for this post, but I liked it (and spent, an albeit small, time making it)