Open Access Conference Proceedings

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has evolved from a linear, fragmented approach to a complex, interconnected system that spans the global landscape. As businesses grapple with the challenges of an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, a paradigm shift in SCM becomes imperative. This article explores the transformative power of Wholeness Systems Thinking (WST) as the strategic mindset change required to navigate the modern supply chain landscape. Traditionally, SCM has focused on individual components and linear processes, often leading to inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and vulnerabilities. However, WST supports the perspective of Wholeness, which is directly focused on emphasizing the critical role of the relevant external environment, economic, environmental, and social stakeholders with its significant impact on the performance of the interdependencies of the supply chain and all its parts. This approach recognizes that disruptions or changes in the relevant external environment can have far-reaching consequences throughout the entire chain. Considering systematically relevant external environment (doing right things) is responsible for consuming significantly fewer resources in the performance of supply chain parts and interactions (doing things right). Such an approach requires a change in strategic management of the entire supply chain. A concrete application of strategic mindset change is proposed and tested within the automotive supply chain from the perspective of a 1st tier supplier´s procurement department.

Keywords: Systems thinking, Supply Chain Management, Mindset change, Automotive Supply Chain, Procurement

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