Supply Chain as a Growth Strategy

Lou Mercado, chief global supply chain officer at 99 Cents Only Stores, spoke with me while container ships sat idle off the Port of Long Beach. He argued supply chain was kept from the strategy table because it was measured on cost and service rather than growth. Lou builds teams that mix finance, operations and HR backgrounds, and wants planning to reach upstream to raw materials and commodity markets. The metrics he would change first: financials and talent.