From PowerPoint to Procurement Scrutiny: Rethinking the Future of Supply Chain Consulting
AI agents, budget cuts, and new client demands are changing the rules - will traditional supply chain consultants keep up?
By now, it’s not just strategy consulting that’s shifting - it’s supply chain consulting that’s entering a full-blown identity crisis. What used to be a game of frameworks, playbooks, and PowerPoint slides is now a high-stakes competition for real results, data fluency, and digital muscle.
Jason Busch, a well-known voice in the procurement tech space, recently sparked an important conversation about the future of consulting. While his observations span the broader consulting ecosystem, many of his points hit particularly hard for supply chain professionals. And judging by the flood of comments from experts in procurement, sourcing, and operations, this isn’t a hypothetical scenario - it’s already happening.
Let’s unpack the key takeaways - and what they mean specifically for supply chain consulting.
1. Clients Want Outcomes, Not Advice
Traditional consultants used to sell insight. Today’s clients are buying impact. That means clear ROI, speed, and real-world execution. In supply chain, this translates to:
Faster sourcing cycles
Real-time risk visibility
Smarter forecasting
Automation that actually works
As Jason writes: “Clients aren’t just buying advice anymore. They want the scaffolding: the KM systems, the benchmarking tools, the deep IP that firms once kept hidden under the hood.” Supply chain leaders no longer want slide decks—they want decision support platforms, predictive dashboards, and performance guarantees.
Joël Collin-Demers, a digital procurement expert, adds: “There will be less opportunity to ‘learn on the job’ in consulting going forward.” If you’re not bringing hard experience—running warehouses, negotiating freight contracts, optimizing supplier performance—you’re behind.
2. Supply Chain Consulting Is Going Digital—Fast
Consulting firms are building AI-powered digital agent workforces. Why? Because bots don’t get tired, and they come “fully loaded.” In the supply chain world, that means:
Autonomous demand planners
AI-based TCO models
Digital twins that simulate inventory networks
Oliver Jones notes: “Nicely put,” but others sound more alarmed. Michael Lamoureux warns that “Agentric AI is already on a death spiral.” He links to research from Nature showing that models trained on recursively generated data collapse in performance. His conclusion? Don’t just trust the tech—audit it rigorously.
That’s where procurement’s new role comes in. As Jason predicts: “Procurement will be tasked with auditing and holding consultancies to account (much as they are starting to do with SaaS).” In short: if you sell supply chain transformation, you better prove it.
3. The Talent Shift: Less Frameworks, More Operators
What’s replacing armies of junior consultants with polished MBAs? A new class of experts who’ve actually run supply chains, not just analyzed them. Expect more firms to look like Alvarez & Marsal or AlixPartners: top-heavy, full of ex-COOs, logistics veterans, and sourcing renegades.
Hanyin Chen puts it well: “As operational skills get commoditised, the edge shifts to people who open hearts, not just win arguments with brains.”
Translation: If you’ve survived a Black Friday delivery meltdown, you’re more valuable than someone who can recite the SCOR model from memory.
4. Consulting Firms Will Compete on Data
Want to win a supply chain transformation bid? Show the client your data advantage. Jason sees this coming fast: “Firms will compete on access to data (e.g., commodity/index, forecasting, benchmarking) to deliver outcomes rapidly.”
This raises the bar dramatically. Supply chain consultants will need:
Deep category benchmarks
Reliable freight and commodity indices
Predictive models that work across regions and tiers
Marc Hutchinson adds that while AI can crunch numbers, it lacks the “tacit savvy to evaluate or challenge outcomes.” That means there’s still room for human insight—if you’re using it to augment, not replace, data-driven decisions.
5. The Case Interview Isn’t Dead, but the Job Has Changed
Analytical thinking still matters. But post-analysis, you’ll need to recommend whether a task is best handled by a team of consultants or an LLM-powered bot.
As Jason writes: “After you crack the case, you’ll also need to figure out whether the solution needs two associates and an EM ... or a digital twin that costs 99% less and works through the weekend without complaining.”
Joël Collin-Demers suggests young professionals “learn BEFORE the job in the real world… build something (anything!) and sell it.” Jason agrees: management rotations (like those at GE) may become more attractive than entry-level consulting gigs.
6. Supply Chain Is the New Frontline for Consulting's Disruption
The backdrop to this shift? Companies under massive budget pressure and transformation fatigue. As Jason quips in a Dogecoin meme moment: “Very CFO. Much cut. Wow.”
Joe Payne predicts that after the AI hype cycle, “companies will be hiring humans to come in and fix all the problems the AI created.” Michael Lamoureux adds: “If they wait more than a few years to fix it, those companies won’t exist.”
In supply chain, failure is visible. Miss a delivery, a PO, or a customs form, and it costs you instantly. That makes the margin for consulting error razor thin.
Final Thoughts: Rethinking What Supply Chain Clients Really Need
So what does this all mean for consulting firms, digital procurement experts, and supply chain transformation advisors?
Here are the big takeaways:
Don’t just deliver advice—deliver tools, benchmarks, and outcomes.
Don’t rely on junior talent—hire people with real scars and operator experience.
Don’t treat AI as magic—audit it, challenge it, and ground it in operational reality.
Don’t hide your IP—embed it in platforms and products.
Don’t chase slide decks—chase value, time-to-impact, and proof.
And above all, rethink your offer not around what you can say, but what you can solve—and what you’re willing to guarantee.
Consulting in supply chain isn’t dead. But the PowerPoint era is. The next chapter belongs to those who build, prove, and deliver.
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