With over a decade of experience in logistics, export management, and supply chain optimization, Andreas Walz has built a career dedicated to enhancing efficiency, digitalization, and operational excellence.
In this leadership role at EGO, Andreas is focused on building and continuously improving the logistics department, optimizing internal and external processes, and ensuring seamless Order-to-Cash operations.
Beyond operational excellence, Andreas recognizes the evolving challenges in supply chain management, particularly in balancing sustainability efforts with competitiveness and profitability. A firm believer in collaboration, innovation, and strategic transformation, he is committed to reshaping supply chain perceptions—from a behind-the-scenes function to a critical business enabler, as he explained during our chat.
Andreas how do you feel supply chain is perceived in general? Why is this?
Supply chain is often underappreciated and misunderstood by those outside the field. It’s frequently viewed as simply “moving stuff around” or basic logistics, rather than the complex, strategic function it truly is. There are several reasons for this perception:
First, supply chain tends to only get widespread attention when something goes wrong – like during the COVID-19 pandemic’s disruptions or the Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal. This creates a reactive rather than proactive association in many people’s minds.
Second, there’s a lack of understanding about how deeply supply chain impacts business strategy and performance. Many don’t realize that supply chain decisions directly affect everything from product design and customer experience to profit margins and sustainability efforts. The field requires sophisticated modelling, risk management, and cross-functional coordination that isn’t immediately visible to outsiders.
Third, supply chain’s complexity has grown exponentially with globalization, yet its evolution isn’t always obvious to those not directly involved. Modern supply chain professionals need expertise in data analytics, sustainability, geopolitics, and emerging technologies – far beyond traditional logistics management. However, these advanced capabilities aren’t always recognized because the end goal still appears straightforward: getting products to where they need to be.
What can/should supply chain do better?
Supply chain organizations have several key areas where they need to improve. Many supply chains still rely too heavily on intuition and historical practices rather than leveraging advanced analytics and real-time data. They need to better utilize predictive analytics, machine learning, and digital twins to optimize operations and anticipate disruptions.
Supply chain often operates in silos, both internally and with external partners. There needs to be tighter integration with sales and marketing to improve demand forecasting, product development to ensure manufacturability and sustainable design, finance to better understand cost implications, and suppliers to enable true collaboration rather than transactional relationships.
The field needs to attract and retain professionals with broader skill sets beyond traditional supply chain expertise. This includes data science and analytics capabilities, technology and digital transformation experience, sustainability and ESG knowledge, and change management skills.
Recent disruptions have exposed weaknesses in risk assessment and mitigation. Supply chains need to develop more sophisticated scenario planning, build greater resilience through strategic redundancy, improve visibility across multiple supply chain tiers, and create more agile response capabilities.
While many organizations talk about sustainable supply chains, fewer have truly embedded sustainability into their operations. This requires better measurement of environmental impact, design for circularity, supplier engagement on sustainability goals, and investment in green technologies and practices.
Supply Chain is not perceived as the most glamourous of careers. Together with lack of defined career path, and often a lack of visibility educationally compared to roles such as sales, marketing, finance etc, attracting a new generation of professionals is a challenge. What should supply chain do about this?
Supply chain management has long struggled with a perception problem. It is often seen as a behind-the-scenes function rather than an exciting, dynamic career path. Unlike fields such as sales, marketing, or finance, supply chain lacks widespread visibility in educational settings, making it difficult to attract the next generation of professionals. To change this, the industry must actively reshape its narrative, strengthen educational outreach, define clear career paths, and enhance its visibility.
A crucial step is reframing the narrative around supply chain careers. The industry is no longer just about warehouses and logistics—it is at the forefront of digital transformation, sustainability, and strategic business impact. Supply chain professionals play a key role in leveraging AI, IoT, and blockchain to drive efficiency. They lead sustainability efforts, contributing to circular economies and reducing environmental impact. Beyond operations, supply chain teams directly influence business strategy and financial performance, solving complex global challenges that affect everyday life. By emphasizing these aspects, the industry can attract young professionals who are motivated by innovation and purpose-driven work.
Stronger educational outreach is essential for attracting talent early. Partnering with universities to develop dedicated supply chain programs ensures that students see this career as a viable and rewarding option. Offering internships and co-op opportunities early in their education allows them to gain hands-on experience, while mentorship programs help bridge the gap between academia and industry. Introducing supply chain concepts at the high school level and providing scholarships in this field can also help generate interest among younger students.
Another challenge is the lack of clearly defined career paths within supply chain. Organizations should establish structured progression routes that outline specialization tracks in areas like analytics, sustainability, and operations. Defining the skills and competencies needed for advancement, along with cross-functional rotation opportunities, will help young professionals see the long-term potential of a career in supply chain. Leadership development programs specifically tailored to the industry will further encourage career growth and retention.
To make the field more attractive, the industry must also increase its visibility. A strong presence on social media and professional networks can highlight the exciting aspects of supply chain work. Participation in career fairs, industry events, and thought leadership initiatives will further demonstrate the impact and importance of supply chain roles. Showcasing success stories, innovation, and the diversity of career opportunities available will help position supply chain as an aspirational career choice.
By redefining how supply chain is perceived, strengthening its presence in education, creating clear career pathways, and enhancing industry visibility, the field can successfully attract and retain the next generation of professionals. These steps will ensure that supply chain is not just recognized as a vital business function but also as an exciting, forward-thinking career choice.
In your opinion outside of geo-political, pandemics, and natural disasters, what is the biggest challenge supply chain faces in the coming years? How can this risk be mitigated?
The biggest challenge supply chain faces in the coming years is the fundamental transformation required to address sustainability and climate change pressures while simultaneously maintaining competitiveness and profitability. Unlike traditional supply chain disruptions, this challenge demands systemic change rather than just risk management or alternate sourcing.
This transformation requires simultaneous changes across multiple dimensions. Companies must rethink product design to incorporate circularity and reduce environmental impact. Supplier networks need to be restructured to lower emissions, while investments in new technologies and infrastructure become essential. Developing new metrics and measurement systems is critical for tracking progress, alongside building entirely new reverse logistics capabilities. Additionally, organizations must navigate increasingly strict regulatory requirements and manage higher costs during the transition period.
To mitigate these challenges, organizations should begin with measurement and visibility. Implementing comprehensive emissions tracking across all scopes is essential for understanding the full environmental impact. Companies must also develop better analytics to measure sustainability performance and create transparency into supplier practices to ensure accountability throughout the supply chain.
Building a strong business case for sustainability is another key strategy. Organizations need to quantify the costs of inaction, such as regulatory fines, customer attrition, and stranded assets. At the same time, identifying opportunities where sustainability initiatives create business value can help balance the transition with financial viability. Developing staged implementation plans that align transformation efforts with profitability will enable smoother adaptation to these new demands.
Collaboration across the ecosystem is crucial for success. Companies should work closely with suppliers to align on shared sustainability goals and partner with competitors on pre-competitive sustainability initiatives. Engaging with regulators and NGOs can help shape realistic industry standards, while sharing best practices across the industry fosters collective progress.
Investment in innovation will also play a pivotal role. Funding research and development for sustainable materials and processes will help drive long-term change. Organizations should pilot new technologies that enable circular supply chains and develop innovative business models that integrate profitability with sustainability goals.
The companies that successfully navigate this transformation will likely emerge as industry leaders, setting the benchmark for sustainable and resilient supply chains. Those that delay action may find themselves increasingly uncompetitive in a carbon-constrained world, facing regulatory pressures, rising costs, and shifting consumer expectations.