The impact of the supply side in most firms is often far more pervasive and substantive than may first be apparent. In the simplest of terms, the supply side of the business works primarily to manage investment and minimize cost. This includes cost of product, cost to serve, cost of holding inventory and cost of lost sales when product is unavailable. Much of the work is behind the scenes. The focus is often to set the stage for others to succeed. It is to remove obstacles. It is also to discover and capitalize on opportunity. It is to bring to bear the full resources of the vendor community to align and collaborate with company goals and objectives. It is to gain and keep advantage while feeding revenue and share. Some of the work by its very nature must remain confidential. Some of the accomplishments must remain hidden from view.
Working on the supply side is not for the faint of heart. There are a multitude of stakeholders to serve, often with conflicting demands. The role requires a degree of toughness, fairness, balance, consistency, diplomacy, integrity and a drive to deliver optimum results while meeting the needs of each constituent. Making everyone happy is an infrequent luxury. Stakeholders sometimes see the world from their own bias, and the impact of decisions on their particular need.