Why SMEs Are Turning to Fractional Supply Chain Directors

For many small and mid-sized businesses, supply chain challenges can be the biggest barrier to growth. Whether it’s poor forecasting, inefficient systems, or strained customer relationships, the symptoms are clear: revenue growth stalls, teams firefight and leadership spends more time fixing problems than building the business.

Yet hiring an experienced full-time supply chain leader can feel out of reach.

That’s where the Fractional Supply Chain Director comes in.

By working with a seasoned leader for just a couple of days a week, SMEs gain the expertise and tools needed to scale effectively, without the cost of a permanent executive.

Case in Point: My Time at HoX Global

Working as Fractional Supply Chain Director, I partnered with the HoX leadership team just two days a week to introduce strategies learned from over 20 years in large successful multi-nationals, coaching and recruiting a supply chain team on the foundational essentials needed to deliver performance, build trust and ensure growth.

Despite the part-time commitment, the impact was significant and lasting:

• Integration & AI Automation: Led the development of integration and automation strategies, embedding AI into planning, reporting and operational workflows to streamline decision-making and reduce manual effort.

• Demand & Replenishment Planning: Designed new models that directly linked replenishment to consumer demand, resulting in a doubling of grocery revenue in 14 months thanks to improved relationships and rescued delivery performance.

• Integration & Automation: Led ERP enhancements, including EDI integration and streamlining the order-to-cash process to control front end errors causing back end invoice discrepancies and debits.

• Consumer Intelligence: Implemented a BI system that integrated consumer data into the planning function, driving improved commercial decision-making.

• Customer Delivery Excellence: Elevated delivery performance, strengthening customer trust and commercial relationships.

• Team Development: Recruited, trained, and led offshore planning and intelligence teams, creating scalable, cost-effective capability.

And all of this was achieved in a fractional role, equivalent to just two days a week.

What the HoX Leadership Said

"Everything he does has a considerable impact on our ability to operate an improved, more effective supply chain." Chaand Shah, COO, HoX Global

"Neil significantly improved our supply chain efficiency by introducing EDI into our order-to-cash process, streamlining operations and reducing manual work. He also enhanced our data reporting, giving us better insights for decision-making. His initiatives had a lasting positive impact on our team’s performance." Divya Keshwala, Supply Chain Manager. HoX Global

The Fractional Advantage

For SMEs, this model is powerful:

• Cost-effective: Access supply chain leadership for a fraction of the cost.

• Flexible: Scale expertise up or down as needed.

• Impact-driven: Focus on the levers that unlock growth, efficiency, and customer trust.

Supply chain complexity doesn’t have to hold your business back. With fractional leadership, you can make significant improvements, build scalable processes, and unlock growth, without hiring full-time.

If your business is looking to scale, improve delivery performance, or unlock efficiencies, let’s connect. 

A Fractional Supply Chain Director could be exactly the leverage you need.