RISK: Supply planning can become hidden capital allocation when the objective function is unclear

Senior Supply Planning roles increasingly control scarce capacity, inventory exposure and product prioritization. These are capital-allocation decisions even when they are presented as operational planning.

Decisions exposed

• which products receive constrained supply;
• where inventory is positioned;
• which customer demand is prioritized;
• which capacity investments are protected;
• which service or margin trade-off is accepted.

What leaders should monitor

• the financial objective used by the planning model;
• decision rights for constrained allocation;
• service, margin and working-capital outcomes;
• scenario assumptions and approval;
• override history.

Source: NVIDIA Senior Director, Supply Planning role.