GOODQUESTION Readers Weigh In
What Hobbies/Activities Make You Better at Managing Supply Chains?
OFF-THE-BEATEN- TRACK HIKING. The rough terrain and unexpected obstacles hone the lateral
Soccer Kickstarts Success
thinking skills required to find the most efficient route to the final destination— whether that is around, over, or under the obstacle. –Deb Deakin Director of Operations, ePost Global MAKING FREE, CUSTOMIZED BIRTHDAY CAKES for children who may otherwise not receive one. I’ve been providing them in recent years. Noticing and responding to needs inside and outside the workplace is critical for innovative growth, and it’s a lesson that has made me a better manager in logistics. –Caroline Guild Sustainability Manager, Kenco
Soccer shows that teamwork, timing, and fast decisions are important. One mistake can impact the entire team, just as a single issue can halt the entire supply chain. Playing football helps me see how working together and staying flexible are important in both. –Vitaliano Tobruk Supply Chain Industry Practice Lead, Moody’s In soccer, you must envision the end goal , be four passes ahead, communicate with your teammates, and leverage everyone’s strengths. We keep our eyes on the entire field like supply chain leaders who must have a complete end-to-end understanding to guide their team. You also must be ready to tackle unpredictable challenges or disruptions as one team. –Emily Gallo SVP and General Manager, Cardinal Health OptiFreight Logistics
PLAYING CARDS. In supply chain management—just like in a card game—you have to learn to play the hand you’re dealt. It’s important to plan for every possible scenario and be able to pivot strategically and in the moment. –Brian Cromer Managing Director, Global Supply Chain Practice, TBM Consulting Group THE FRESH CONNECTION is an excellent game to sharpen your supply chain skills and it is exciting to see how well you can optimize various scenarios. –Lisa Anderson President, LMA Consulting Group HAVING KIDS. Managing a diaper bag is like running a high-stakes inventory system—missing the wipes
is a crisis. There’s real-time route optimization (nearest bathroom always), strict SLAs for naps, and just-in-time snack delivery to avoid meltdowns. –Alex Joyce Strategic Account Executive, Gather AI SETTLEMENT GAMES LIKE TIMBERBORN, with resource management, help improve supply chain skills by introducing risk and disruption. They train you to plan for worst-case scenarios and test if your strategy holds. –Nathaniel East Operations Manager, TA Services
ORCHESTRATING A FAMILY GETAWAY is supply chain bootcamp in disguise: Juggle Aunt Sue’s
beach dream with kids’ roller-coaster quota, slot flights, Tetris-pack suitcases, chart backup routes for tantrums and storms, and monitor bookings like live inventory.
–Shannon Hynds CEO, Quickcode
CODEWORD PUZZLES AND WORD SEARCHES —they train you to uncover hidden connections and think laterally. That same mindset is invaluable in supply chain—spotting inefficiencies, decoding complexity, and aligning the moving parts into one clear, strategic picture. –Sharon Forder CMO, Sana Commerce
SAILING. It is a constant balancing of where you
want to go, while managing the weather, the wind, the lines; balancing how much and which
6 Inbound Logistics • June 2025
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