Recently, I have been speaking about the global supply chain talent shortage in countries with over a 30-percent unemployment rate. The discussion of the lack of supply chain talent in countries where the attendees are struggling to find high-paying jobs feels awkward. For many, it almost seems surreal. They are fighting so hard for jobs for their families and friends. They are consumed by the fight. To hear someone talking about a talent gap in a field of high-paying jobs with good benefits is difficult for them to conceive. But, it is true.

This month, the Supply Chain Insights team will announce the Supply Chain Index, a formulaic representation of supply chain excellence based on market valuations. It will be launched during a webinar on April 25, 2013, and through a series of reports that will run in our May newsletter and throughout the summer. Here, I would like to share some background information on the Index and how I intend to use it in developing a higher level of research.

For a new report on supply chain excellence, an assistant and I waded through spreadsheet after spreadsheet of data for the last three weeks and contrasted the progress of the high-tech, consumer products, food, pharmaceutical and industrial industries. The storyline of the report is that ONLY the high-tech industry is making progress on what I call the Supply Chain Effective Frontier - effectively balancing progress on growth, profitability, cycles and complexity. The rest of the industries are either stuck or moving backwards. Consumer packaged goods, food and chemical manufacturers are stuck and pharmaceutical and industrial companies are losing ground and moving backwards.

Usually in a fairy tale there is a big, bad wolf "¦ one that is going to eat you up! Such a wolf is swallowing up the supply chain.