What Hobbies/Activities Make You Better at Managing Supply Chains?

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Soccer Kickstarts Success

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

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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

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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

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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

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Off-the-beaten-track hiking. The rough terrain and unexpected obstacles hone the lateral 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Being an armchair quarterback. I enjoy watching sporting events and analyzing coaches’ strategies to identify opportunities for better team performance. I bring this same analytical mindset to the supply chain world, where I take an “outside-in” approach—viewing challenges from an employee or customer perspective.

–Todd Gentry
Vice President, New Business Development
CHEP U.S.

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The board game Container. You’re juggling production, pricing, and shipping all while trying to read the market and stay one step ahead. It’s surprisingly close to real supply chain thinking.

–Tony Crisafulli
VP Sales
Odyssey Logistics

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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 kind of sails to use to most effectively accomplish your mission—all while external influences have very real impacts on your ability to execute.

–Joe Adamski
Senior Director
ProcureAbility

 

 

 

Read the full article in Inbound Logistics.

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About Joe Adamski

Joe Adamski has more than 12 years of advisory and consulting experience centered on strategic procurement and large-scale transformations. He has deep experience in launching and executing programs focused on strategic sourcing, supply chain, procurement strategy, organizational design, and transformations.

Earlier in his career, Joe was an Air Force pilot before joining A.T. Kearney in their consumer practice. He has consulted with numerous Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries, including utilities, CPGs, grocery, retail, telecom, apparel, food and beverage, and government.

Joe holds a B.S. degree in Physics from the United States Air Force Academy and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. He enjoys boating, hiking, and spending time in the outdoors.

About ProcureAbility

ProcureAbility, a Jabil company, is the leading provider of procurement services, offering advisory, managed services, digital, staffing, and recruiting solutions. For nearly 30 years, we have focused exclusively on helping clients elevate their procurement function.

We combine leading methodologies, analytics, market intelligence, and industry benchmarks with our uniquely flexible and customizable service delivery model. Global organizations of all sizes trust ProcureAbility to transform their procurement operations, drive growth, and reimagine what’s possible.

Let ProcureAbility help you reimagine your procurement capabilities.

Media contact:

Kathleen M. Pomento
Chief Marketing Officer | ProcureAbility
kpomento@procureability.com