“ Our goal is to ensure the Varsity Brands supply chain becomes faster, smarter and even more customer-centric”
Joe Rains Chief Supply Chain Officer Varsity Brands
“ That diversification gives us greater flexibility, improves our ability to manage risk and creates more capacity to support future growth.”
The company is investing in operational visibility, planning capabilities and ongoing improvements, all of which are helping the organisation to grow to scale and meet demand. The long-term plan is to continue to invest into the company in order to grow BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit. However, Joe understands that supply chain issues are not just solved through money and strategy, but that there is a critical‘ people’ element.
He says:“ Transformation is not just about systems and operations – it’ s also about people and culture. Building strong teams, creating accountability and fostering a continuous improvement mindset are all critical parts of creating a high-performing supply chain organisation.” This shines throughout the organisation’ s ethos – a brand built on“ elevating the athlete experience through sport, spirit and achievement”, which aims to help empower communities. It does this by ensuring its supply chain is operating at the best of its ability at all times. Joe adds:“ From a supply chain perspective, our role is to make sure those experiences happen reliably and seamlessly. Something as simple as receiving a uniform or team gear can have a much bigger impact than people realise.
“ For many students, opening that package represents pride, confidence, belonging and months of preparation leading up to a season or competition.
“ Helping ensure we play our part in that experience is incredibly rewarding.”
Much of this relies on advancements in technology, which is becoming increasingly accessible to supply chains around the world. As advanced planning, forecasting and operational visibility tools become more available, companies are able to make decisions much faster and more effectively, therefore helping them become more agile and resilient.
Through this, Joe and his team are working towards the future of Varsity Brands, a one where there is better visibility and greater responsiveness to disruption.
Joe concludes:“ As customer expectations continue to evolve, our goal is to ensure the Varsity Brands supply chain becomes faster, smarter and even more customer-centric.”
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