Hire Supply Chain Director — own the flow from supplier to customer
Cash gets trapped in the supply chain long before anyone notices: overstocked SKUs, emergency air freight, 3PL invoices nobody challenges, and stockouts on the products that actually sell. A supply chain director owns the entire flow — demand planning, sourcing, inventory, and logistics — turning the supply chain from a cost center that surprises you into a managed function that funds growth.
I'm Omer Muneer Qazi, a Dubai-based Fractional CTO & Solutions Architect with 15+ years of experience and 100+ projects delivered across 6 countries. I place supply chain leaders who think in working capital, not just containers — and I connect the planning systems and data feeds their decisions depend on. For broader operational ownership beyond the supply chain, consider a director of operations.
A supply chain managed as capital
Demand planning discipline
Forecasting built on sales history, seasonality, and commercial input — replacing gut-feel ordering with a process the finance team can underwrite.
Inventory optimization
Stock levels set by science: service targets, lead-time variability, and ABC stratification — so cash stops being buried in slow movers while winners stock out.
Sourcing and supplier strategy
Supplier base rationalized and negotiated professionally: cost, quality, lead time, and risk balanced — with dual-sourcing where single-source risk is unacceptable.
3PL and freight management
Logistics partners managed to SLAs and benchmarked rates — inbound, warehousing, and last-mile each optimized, with emergency freight treated as a failure signal, not a routine.
S&OP cadence
Sales and operations planning run as a monthly discipline — demand, supply, and finance reconciled in one conversation instead of three conflicting plans.
Working capital reporting
Inventory turns, stock cover, and cash conversion reported as executive metrics — so the supply chain’s financial impact is always visible.
From trapped cash to flowing capital
A structured engagement with no surprises — you’ll always know what’s happening and what’s next.
Supply chain audit
We map the full flow: suppliers, lead times, inventory positions, 3PL costs, and service failures — and quantify the trapped working capital.
Stabilize service
Stockouts on key SKUs fixed first, supplier emergencies calmed, and basic planning discipline installed — so the business stops lurching.
Optimize the flow
Inventory parameters reset, suppliers renegotiated, and S&OP cadence started — releasing cash while improving availability.
Managed excellence
The supply chain becomes a managed, measured function — with continuous improvement on cost, service, and capital efficiency.
Why hire a supply chain director through a Fractional CTO
Supply chain directors are only as good as their data: inventory in spreadsheets, demand signals trapped in the sales team’s heads, and 3PL portals nobody integrates. I build the data foundation — integrated planning inputs and honest inventory visibility — so your director plans from facts instead of folklore.
You get supply chain leadership with the systems to run it properly. Get in touch to scope the role.
Frequently asked questions
How much working capital is typically trapped?
It varies wildly, but businesses without disciplined planning commonly carry 20 to 40 percent more inventory than their service targets require. The audit usually pays for the hire.
Do we need this if we use a 3PL?
Yes — arguably more. A 3PL executes; someone still needs to own the strategy: what to stock, where, and at what cost. Unmanaged 3PL relationships quietly inflate.
What about supply disruptions and risk?
Dual sourcing for critical SKUs, safety stock set on lead-time variability rather than hope, and supplier financial health monitored — resilience designed in, not wished for.
How long before inventory normalizes?
Stabilization within a quarter; full optimization over two to three — limited by supplier lead times and the courage to clear dead stock.
Should supply chain report to operations or finance?
To whoever owns working capital accountability — often the COO or CFO. What matters is that inventory decisions and their financial consequences sit with the same owner.
Free the cash in your supply chain
Tell me about your inventory, suppliers, and logistics — I will tell you where the working capital is trapped and what a director should fix first.