Bernhard Raschke spent almost 25 years in the supply chain consulting world, with KPMG, AT Kearney and ultimately leading PWC’s procurement advisory network. He is now the EMEA lead for Supply Chain at Korn Ferry International, known to many as “head-hunters”, but now consultants in a wide range of areas connected with talent and strategy. When we spoke, he had recently been involved in round tables with supply chain leaders, looking at new ways of working post-pandemic; “react / restart / reimagine” being the advice.
Raschke was brought up and educated in Germany, but has lived in London with his family (wife and two cricket-playing teenage boys) for many years. He has a sharp intellectual curiosity, and any conversation with him is littered with suggestions that “you should read this…” and “have you heard about that…”! But why is “purpose” so high on his personal agenda?
“The Korn Ferry leadership model forms the basis of our one-year CEO succession programme, which simulates through coaching being a CEO. It is rooted in the philosophy of the “purpose driven leader”, he explains. He is also a big fan of Kevin Cashman’s book “Leadership From The Inside Out”. Cashman also leads the Korn Ferry CEO institute and the firm’s leadership model is very much based on this thinking, and informs work in purpose and supply chain more generally.
The Korn Ferry ADAPT leadership model (anticipate, drive, accelerate, partner, trust) was developed after the firm examined 150,000 leadership profiles over the years. It resulted in a definition of a new breed of “self-disruptive leaders”. When a leader can demonstrate that purpose, then they create effective “followership”. That enables people, even if they aren’t natural extroverts, to articulate why they want to do their jobs.
“When you have a leader who is driven by purpose, understands their peoples’ talents and passions, is clear on values, can tell the story of who they are and how that connects with the purpose of the business… that is when real magic happens!”
And Raschke thinks the post-Covid world will reinforce the purpose movement rather than derail it. “There will always be a space for very low-cost, lean businesses. But we see too many victims of globalisation, too many disenfranchised people. The pandemic has highlighted these issues. Companies that have not created a culture rooted in purpose will struggle to grow, to attract the best talent, or to justify premium pricing for their products”. The good news is that investors are also looking for purpose and sustainability to be embraced by organisations.
What does all this mean in terms of the role of the Chief Procurement or Supply Chain Officer (CPO and CSCO)? “The role has already evolved dramatically in recent years, from policing to strategic differentiation. It’s not just looking at cost and cash – although those factors will always be important”. Leaders need to look to find a new balance between resilience and agility, focusing on sustainability and innovation as well – all supported by digital enablement. “All of this will also only work if the teams are truly diverse, as this will foster a more creative dialogue to solving problems”.
But as always, getting the balance right is key. “Agility sounds good – but agility rhymes with fragility. If we are talking about life-saving ventilators or PPE during the pandemic, we need reliable products and supply chains above all else”. That means understanding where a certain amount of redundancy (excess capacity) in the system is a good thing. “And we need engaged suppliers, with early risk indicators, giving us predictive capability to support our decisions”.
Raschke also makes a very interesting point about the new “working from home” environment. “Increasingly, you can’t just tell people what to do. That is even more true with everyone working remotely – which seems likely to continue. If you are purpose driven, staff have a guide in terms of what they should do or should not do, they don’t have to constantly ask”.
Organisations and leaders than can articulate a clear purpose will be setting a guide for behaviour and decisions that will surely make independent working more successful. Raschke does also point out that younger staff – who aren’t working from big houses with pleasant gardens – are missing the office more than most. However, that “trust”, letting go of tight control, is going to be key as we move forwards.
Back to specific supply chain issues, and he sees supply chain management as being central to the post-pandemic world. “We do need to revisit supplier relationships, there will be more local supply, but critically there will be more focus on protecting our key suppliers. Firms such as Heineken are placing emphasis on the quality of their supplier relationships, and the purpose that underpins that”. That means taking a long-term view, and “digitisation can accelerate and support that process”.
As you might expect, Korn Ferry is focusing on the post-Covid requirements for senior executives. They are talking about building new competencies, both soft and hard, and the balancing of agility and resilience comes up again in this context. “Organisations need to nurture top talent, and start the talent hunt now”, Raschke says. Most candidates for CPO roles now do “get it” in terms of purpose and sustainability, he feels. But “we still don’t have enough inspirational procurement and supply chain leaders who are both hard-nosed businesspeople, but can also articulate that sense of purpose”, he suggests.
“You have to deliver on cost and cash to earn the right to develop the purpose agenda. But the best people know that these aren’t really different agendas, they can align together perfectly”.