Chief Supply Chain Officer — Passenger-Vehicle Business

The mandate

A South Korean passenger-vehicle business is resetting its plant footprint as demand mix, trade restrictions and geopolitical risk reshape material flow. The current network was optimised for stable sourcing and fixed production roles. Proposed site moves alter supplier distance, customs exposure, inventory, tooling and recovery, but no executive owns the complete transition. The board has created an urgent CSCO seat to design the supply network alongside the footprint rather than after it.

The role will lead an approximately ₩11,250 billion revenue and programme perimeter and 1,000 employees and material partners. Accountability spans procurement, planning, logistics, supplier development, inventory, network design, resilience and supply talent. Operations owns plant execution and engineering owns technical approval. The CSCO owns source and flow continuity, transition sequencing and supply economics across the future network.

Network design will follow product and risk. Battery materials, semiconductors, stamped components and service parts have different transport, regulatory, tooling and shelf-life constraints. The CSCO will compare regionalisation, dual sourcing, strategic stock, supplier parks and flexible logistics by part family. Country count will not be treated as diversification where sources share the same sub-tier or corridor.

Footprint moves require supply qualification before physical transfer. Tool ownership, process knowledge, customer approval, packaging, customs, quality and ramp capacity will be mapped. Inventory buffers will reflect demand and failure consequence and carry expiry plans. Savings will include duplicate freight, premium logistics, supplier support and obsolete stock.

Why this seat is open

This urgent new role was established when the footprint programme exposed distributed supply authority. There is no incumbent. Interim governance protects active plants, but the board seeks appointment within six to eight weeks before tooling and site decisions become irreversible.

What you will own

• Design sourcing and logistics networks aligned to future site mandates.
• Verify sub-tier, tooling, corridor and qualification resilience.
• Sequence supplier and inventory transitions with plant moves.
• Establish customer-critical allocation and disruption recovery.
• Govern supplier economics, working capital and responsible conduct.
• Build successors across procurement, planning, logistics and resilience.

The supply baseline will use primary evidence. Capacity statements will be tested against process capability, labour, maintenance, sub-tier availability and changeover. Alternate sources must complete production and validation, not merely sign contracts. Critical tooling will have condition, access and recovery records.

Geopolitical scenarios will translate into triggers: tariff change, export restriction, border delay, sanctions exposure, energy shortage or route interruption. Each priority family will identify what can move, in what time, with what approval and customer consequence. The CSCO will make explicit where resilience requires accepted cost or altered product design.

Supplier transition must be responsible. Financial support, exit and localisation decisions will consider workforce, compliance, intellectual property and continuing service. Abrupt withdrawal that destroys a required sub-tier is not footprint savings. Procurement incentives will balance total cost, continuity, quality and verified improvement.

Planning systems will be redesigned only after the future network and master data are stable enough to support them. Lead time, order multiple, source, transit, substitution and inventory location require named owners. The CSCO will sample system recommendations against actual supplier and plant constraints before automation scales. Persistent manual overrides will be treated as evidence of a model, data or authority defect rather than normal work.

Logistics resilience will include ports, carriers, hazardous-goods capacity and customs expertise. Alternative routes must be timed and costed with representative components. The team will rehearse a border or corridor closure during a live planning cycle, measuring how quickly customer and plant priorities become an executable allocation.

The first 12 months

During the first 75 days, the CSCO will map the 50 most consequential sources and routes, assess leadership and stabilise imminent footprint decisions. By day 90, the sponsor will receive a future-network thesis, transition sequence and choices on tooling, stock and qualification.

By month eight, two plant moves should have supply-readiness dossiers, ten priority components should complete recovery or alternate-source tests, and geopolitical triggers should operate in planning. Supplier commitments will reconcile to the revised production footprint.

At year-end, critical-source recovery coverage should exceed 90%, premium freight fall by 20% and inventory cash improve by 10% without reduced launch or service availability. Footprint-related supply transfers must meet 95% of qualification milestones, with no material customer stoppage caused by an unverified source or corridor assumption.

What the board will measure

• Supply architecture aligned to the actual site portfolio.
• Geopolitical and sub-tier resilience proven through action.
• Customer continuity during tooling and source transfers.
• Working-capital improvement without hidden fragility.
• Strong supply leadership and succession.

The person

You are a CSCO, procurement and logistics president or automotive network leader with 18–22 years of experience. You have governed at least ₩6,550 billion and 750 employees. Evidence should include a plant-linked supply redesign, a geopolitical disruption response and an alternate-source qualification sustained through ramp.

This onsite Seoul role requires plant, supplier, port and regional travel. You can integrate commercial leverage with engineering and operating reality.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is ₩580–800 million plus annual incentive and equity. Measures cover continuity, footprint readiness, inventory, freight, supplier quality, responsible transition and succession. Final terms reflect experience; notice up to six months can be supported.

Confidentiality

The business, plants, suppliers, routes and transition plans remain confidential. Controlled information follows qualification and an undertaking. Seoul and the rounded perimeter do not identify the company.